Team AMBR: Volume Two
by LinxBento
Summary: After the intense battle with the Alpha, Team AMBR decide it's time to deal with Future Cinder and her accomplices. A new warrior is born, Aaron learns a new skill, Team AMBR gain new friends, and Bolt learns the truth. Can Team AMBR stop Future Cinder from speeding up Salem's takeover? Let's find out.
1. Hunt For Cinder

**Setting: Agradia Hospital Wing**

Bolt woke up in a hospital bed in the middle of the day. He slowly sat up, looking around the room to see that everyone was in the room. He saw Aaron, asleep on a chair, upside down. Rae was leaning up against the wall, also asleep. Bolt didn't understand how she could do that. Mystic was asleep, her head resting on the bed, hand clutching Bolt's. Bolt looked at them all, shaking his head. These people really care about him enough to wait for him to wake up. He was surprised the most about Aaron staying. He looked down at himself, feeling that he had bandages around his chest and waist. His tails burned his skin, but he didn't feel it. Like he wasn't even the one fighting. He let out a sigh as he smiled.

"You guys amaze me sometimes." Bolt said, more to himself, but it didn't go unheard.

"Hmm? Bolt? You're awake!" Mystic said excitedly, waking up the others, as she woke up.

"How long?"

"Two days and a half." Mystic answered as Aaron walked up.

"Dude!" Bolt winced at Aaron's shriek. "You're alive!"

"How are you feeling?" Rae asked as she walked up.

"I feel fine," Bolt got out of the bed to find out that he was shirtless. "Where's my shirt?"

Mystic noticed Bolt's body, all damage it had taken throughout his 17 years of living. The small scars, that were easily over looked. They were from small weapon cuts. Some were stab wounds, that seemed to be nearly completely healed. She looked to his chest, which had his biggest scar. The scar he got from Adam Taurus, which was slightly covered by the bandages for his burns. The scar reached from his left shoulder down to just above his hip.

"Are you serious? You just woke up from the most badass battle ever, and you're worried about a shirt?" Aaron asked, bring Mystic out of her trance.

"And my hoodie." Bolt added.

"I hate you." Aaron said, rolling his eyes with his arms crossed.

"You guys didn't have wait here for me, you know." Bolt said as he found his clothes and weapons.

"We're friends. Of course we did." Mystic said, with a smile.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rae asked as Bolt put on his clothes. "We have a time traveler to hunt down."

"You guys can start without me." Bolt said, putting on the last of his clothes as well as his putting his pistols on his thighs and his sword in it's sheathe. "I have something I need to do."

"But-" Before Rae could finish, Bolt was already out the room.

"Do we have to start looking now?" Aaron asked as Rae headed for the door. He sighed as he got his answer. "Never mind. Let's just go then."

**Setting: Fall Twins Base**

The three walked through the forest, remembering the time when they saved Mystic from the Fall Twins. Aaron thought that coming back here, were they first met Future Cinder. He thought he could find a clue of were she would go. They looked around, not finding anything useful. Aaron checked the spot above, near the forest. Cinder revealed herself up there and Aaron thought that she left something behind, which she didn't. Mystic checked inside the base, having bad flashbacks of when she was kidnapped by the Fall Twins. As she walked, she noticed that every piece of paper in the building was burnt, as well as most of the building itself. She found loads of old news articles and scrolls. The scrolls looked futuristic, proving that they were owned by the twins. Neither of which were usable, though. Mystic sighed as she gathered the papers and scrolls she could.

The three met back up in the middle, in front of the base. Mystic laid out the papers and handed Aaron and Rae the scrolls. Rae hacked into hers while Aaron smacked his on the ground until it turned on. Mystic read the papers in the mean time.

"I'm not seeing anything of importance in this scroll." Rae said as she looked through it. "Stores they wanted to go to, weapon parts, irrelevant news articles..."

"Same here." Mystic spoke, putting the last paper on the stack near her. "These are just old articles about us. Well, mostly Bolt."

"Yeah, this thing has nothing useful. How's a scroll from the future have nothing on it. Passwords, weapon schematics, uh, old base locations, and what ever the hell an Akkorokamui is." Aaron said as he read the scroll.

"Wait, did you say old base locations?" Rae asked, looking up at Aaron.

"Yeah, but... Never mind." Rae groaned as she took the scroll from his hands, immediately pulling up a map.

"Okay, so there are five bases in total. There's one in Vacuo. There's two in the City of Mistral, and the final one is an secret White Fang base in the City of Vale. We know about this one, which means we only have four to check." Rae explained as she looked at the marks on the map, crossing out the current one.

"Man, these guys got around." Aaron said, looking around. "What about this one? Where are we at again?"

"This one is in between Vacuo and Vale." Rae answered.

"So, which one are we going to first?" Mystic asked. sitting up with the help of Aaron.

"The one that's closest, I guess." Aaron said, starting to walk off. "To Vale!"

"Guess we're going to Vale." Rae said, pocketing the Scroll and following Aaron, Mystic right behind them.

**Setting: Vale**

Aaron, Rae, and Mystic walked throughout Vale, following Rae as she led them to the White Fang base. Vale was beautiful at night, Aaron couldn't believe how bright Vale glowed at night. There weren't many people out, so they could walk around freely. Rae didn't pay much attention to were she was going, using the scroll's map to guide her. Aaron had to either move her out of the way or move the things in her way multiple times. It wasn't until he let her hit a pole that she looked up.

"Aaron! Why didn't you move me?!" She yelled, clearly angry.

"I thought you were paying attention." Aaron said, shrugging.

"Don't lie! You know I wasn't!" Rae whisper-yelled.

"Why are you whispering? There's no one else here except for us." Aaron said, motioning around proving his point.

"Let's just find this base and check it out, okay?" Rae said, walking ahead.

"But we've been walking for hours." Aaron complained.

"Stop complaining, it's just down the block." Rae said, turning the corner.

Aaron groaned as they looked down the road. He could see the "hidden" White Fang base, that was at the end of the road. The ridiculously long road. It looked like it'd take 30 more minutes just to get to the end. Rae smacked him on the head, causing him to chase the green haired girl. Mystic laughed at her friends. She loved how they could be serious one minute, and then be so childish the next.

"Ugh! I hate this!" Aaron said, walking away from a laughing Rae.

"Calm down, we're almost here."

"Yeah but it's been like, five years since we started walking!"

"It's been five minutes." Rae corrected, shaking her head at Aaron's complaining. "And look, we're more than halfway there already."

"Still, bored." Aaron mumbled, arms crossed.

"You get bored at anything that's not food, fighting, or your ego." Rae countered.

"So not true, but whatever."

"Alright, this is it."

The three looked up at the broken down, abandoned, building. If they didn't have the map, they would've walked right by it. It didn't look like it would be a secret White Fang base at all. It didn't even have a brand on it anywhere, it was just a random building.

"I'll go first." Aaron said, using his semblance to summon a fire ball for light.

He tore off the boards blocking the door and walked in, the girls following him in. Once they got inside, they could see what this building was supposed to be. It was supposed to be another dust store. All the banners that were supposed to be hung up outside were inside, spread across the counter. Aaron looked around, seeing how ironic it was for this to be a White Fang base. He continued to walk around, leaving the two girls to look in the main room while he went to the back.

"Alright, let's start looking." Rae said as she went to move things.

"Found something!" Aaron called out before Rae or Mystic could even look into a box.

The two girls hurried to the back, seeing Aaron looking at a wall. "What did you find? All I see... is a wall..."

Aaron placed the fire on the table in front of the wall, making sure it didn't burn anything. The wall Aaron was looking at had pictures. Pictures of all of them, doing things through their travels as a team. They had red lines, connecting them to certain points or items. It was a complete detectives' board, about Team AMBR. They were shocked, and scared, that someone was watching them ever since they met.

"Look, it's when we met back up and fought Strike." Aaron said, pointing to the picture of the exact moment when Bolt, Aaron, and Rae showed up to protect Mystic.

"And look at this one." Mystic said, pulling another picture from the board. "It's when you and Bolt fought for the first time."

"Look at this one. It's Bolt fighting some people in Haven." Rae said grabbing the picture next to a picture of them escaping her castle. "And this one was when we ran out of my, uh, The Akilen Castle."

"Whoever this Future Cinder is, she's been watching us from the beginning," As Aaron talked, Mystic walked over to a table with a box, full of files. She picked one up and gasped as the logo on it. "What is it, Mystic?"

Mystic turned, showing the two a file with six elements on it. The six elements were Fire, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Ice, and Water. They were circled around two dragon like symbols, like they were surrounding and attacking them. Rae gasped as she grabbed the file, recognizing it.

"They're just like the hieroglyphics in the Archives." She said, hesitant on opening it.

"Open it." Aaron said, looking over Rae's shoulder, Mystic doing the same. "Let's see what this means."

Rae opened the file, eyes widened as she read the first few words. "Night Raid Files; Subject 2: Bolt Rai. Code name: Beta."

"What?!" Aaron yelled in shock. "Why isn't it number one?"

The three read the page, it had all the information on Bolt, ending at the implanted abilities list. They knew most of the information, having seen and experienced it in person. It even had a picture of a younger Bolt, in gray clothes. The blue in his hair was faint, making it seem more natural then the more noticeable, brighter blue he had now. His eyes were red rather than blue, just like they are when Red Lightning was active. The picture made Bolt look like an innocent little boy, which scared the others, having known what Bolt has done and can do and knowing what he was before during these times. They got to the end of his page seeing something that confused all of them.

"Revenge Counter? The hell does that mean?" The description next to the ability was blank, like no one wrote anything there in the first place. Now that they thought about it, none of the abilities had information on it.

"We can ask him later. Let's move on." Rae then flipped the page seeing another familiar face. "Night Raid Files; Subject 1: N/A. Code name: Alpha."

"N/A? Why is his name unavailable?" Mystic asked, confused on how an organization didn't know their own subject's real name.

"Look at this, Semblance: Aura Control. He can control his aura better than any normal person, making weapons and blasts out of them." Aaron pointed out before reading the next line. "This bastard has unlimited aura too?! That's bullshit!"

"Here's something else you won't like. Full Counter: Alpha will be able to return physical attacks, with more than double their original strength, back at the attacker." Rae read, Aaron flipping out in response.

"He has even more bullshit, on top of his bullshit?! I would've won that fight if he didn't cheat!" Aaron was really pissed now. "No wonder why he hit so damn hard."

"What should we do?"

"I'd say let's get these files to the Doc. She might know what were dealing with, and what to do with them." Aaron suggested, Rae nodding in response.

"Well, I'm guessing the rest of these pages are just the other Elementals, which we know about, so let's leave." Rae said, leading the others out of the abandoned store.

Before Rae and Mystic could get Aaron away from the store, they heard the crackling of fire. They turned around seeing Aaron walk out of a now burning store. Rae ran over and smacked Aaron in the head while Mystic tried to extinguish the flames with a semblance. She gave up when the fire started to become hot, to hot to even stand near.

"What are you thinking?!" Rae yelled, Aaron shrugging in response.

"You just saw what was in there. If anybody else stumbles upon it, we're screwed. They could give it to Atlas, and then we'd have a whole military on our back while trying to find one person." Aaron said, which actually made Rae calm down a bit. He was right. If Atlas, or anyone for that matter, got a hold of those pictures and files, the whole team would be in trouble.

"Uh...guys?" The three turned around to see Bolt looking at them, head tilted in confusion. "Why is that building on fire?"

"Bolt!" The three ran up to Bolt, who was overwhelmed quickly.

"Hey, calm down." Bolt said, back up from the others. "My body's sore."

"From what?"

"Doesn't matter. Why is the building on fire?" Bolt said, ignoring Aaron's question.

"We went back to the place we first met Future Cinder, and we found out that they had bases. That place in the forest, this one in Vale, one in Mistral, and one in Vacuo." Aaron explained, Bolt nodding in response.

"Well, we found pictures... of us." Mystic said, Bolt's eyebrows raising in interest.

"And there was... this." Rae handed Bolt the file, which he didn't have a good reaction to.

"These are... Night Raid files. Why does Cinder have these? How does Cinder have these? They were destroyed." Bolt said, eyes widened at the file.

He looked at it, confused. He saw two things, that he guessed the others didn't see. He knew these were Night Raid's files, but it was called something different. On the bottom of the file read; Project Vortex. He also noticed something different that confirmed his idea that only he could see certain things on the cover of the file. In the middle of the Night Raid emblem was a crown, which didn't make sense. He ignored it, focusing on the unfamiliar name. _"Project Vortex?"_

Bolt tilted his head to the side, opening the file slowly. He looked at the first page, seeing the same thing the others saw. His younger self. When his lightning was just red. He looked into his own eyes, seeing what the others didn't see. A monster. All of the memories came rushing back to Bolt. He remembered everything he wanted to forget. He blinked, trying to erase it once again with something else. Something that was always said to him. _"Man, I was a cute kid."_

"Yeah, we found them in there. We were going to take them to Sierra to see what she wants to do with it." Aaron said, Bolt slowly nodding in response.

"Yeah. Let's do that." Bolt said, handing Rae the files before walking toward Agradia.

"Well then, next base is in Mistral. Let's head there tomorrow."

* * *

**This Volume of AMBR, along with some in the future, will feel very different from the first. This is because they are different, in many ways. The main way is because this Fanfiction in going into the magical side of RWBY. People like the Alpha aren't like normal people. He's a threat on a magical level, and would need to be dealt with on a magical level. This Volume is more on the normal side, meaning that it will actually feel like a RWBY OC story.**

**RWBY Volume 7 This November! I love Weiss and Blake's new outfits the most. Who am I kidding, I love everyone's outfits. They all look so mature, and were going to see what Atlas looks like. Who can wait, cause I can't. I'm really proud at how far RWBY has come. Manga to comic books with DC to mobile games. Let's all hope RWBY continues until it can't.**

**Coming up: Dragon's Rematch: Bolt vs Argent **


	2. Dragon's Rematch: Bolt vs Argent

**Setting: Mistral**

Team AMBR were on their airship, heading to Mistral. They gave the Night Raid files to Sierra, who had the same reaction as Bolt. She asked loads of questions. From how did they find them to why the flies existed. The doctor thanked the four before they went to bed to get ready to their trip. First thing in the morning, Aaron woke everyone up, leading them to the airship. The girls slept on the way to Mistral while the boys sat quietly, not talking at all, each one think about different things. Bolt took the chance to put his earbuds in, listening to some songs on repeat.

They set foot on the Mistral dock port, Aaron walking out immediately, leaving Bolt to wake up the girls. He lightly shook them, both groaning in response. They followed Bolt out of the airship, covering their eyes at the morning light. The two girls gazed in awe at the City of Mistral. The two hadn't really got to see Mistral and couldn't believe how beautiful a city could be. They mostly stayed at Haven, only leaving when they were told. Aaron waited on a hill for the three, also entranced by the city hidden in the mountains. He was the only one out of the four who hadn't been in Mistral.

"So, this is Mistral, huh?" Aaron took a breath in, he loved this place. "Cool."

"Yeah, it's a wonderful place," Bolt said, gazing at the city. "When you get to enjoy it."

"Weren't you here before?" Aaron asked, turning back to Bolt, who look at him in confusion. "There were pictures at the base."

"Yeah, let's not talk about that." Bolt mumbled.

"Why not?" Bolt groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"I fought past Cinder, and killed someone." Aaron mouth slightly opened, only to close again.

"Alright, let's get going. Base isn't gonna find itself." Aaron said, walking toward Mistral, the others right behind him.

The four walked through the market area of Mistral. They saw loads of weapons, armor, clothes, jewels, and dust. Aaron drooled as they pasted by the weapons, wanting to get some parts for his plasma rifle. Rae thought about getting more dust for the team, but decided against it. She was the one that mostly used dust in fights, with Mystic only using two types. Aaron barely used dust, using his semblance more often, and Bolt never used dust. She also knew that Mistral had a black market system, hidden with the true trades going on. She didn't want to accidentally fall into one of them.

Bolt never got to experience most of this when he came to help Ruby. It was actually nice and peaceful, being able to walk around and not have the stress of the end of the world on his shoulders. Except now the future's fate was resting on their hands, but they could handle it. As the four walked, Bolt also noticed a tall woman with a long tail in front of him. She looked very familiar, and the two pairs of dragon horns gave it away.

"Well, if it isn't Bolt Rai." The woman said, causing everyone to look at her.

"Hey, Argent. Long time no see." Bolt said, with a smile, giving the Dragon Faunus a small wave.

"Yes, it has." She replied, Aaron tilting his head in confusion. "I'm glad you survived the...accident."

"Yeah, I'm happy you did too."

"Uh, Bolt, who's this?" Aaron asked, pointing to Argent.

"Remember when I told you I had a fight during the Vytal Festival?" Aaron nodded, looking to Argent. "She's the one I fought."

"Oh," Aaron finally put the pieces together. "Did you win?"

"Unfortunately, we tied." Argent answered, which Aaron chuckled at. "I was actually thinking about finding you so we can have a rematch after I was finished visiting Sanctum."

"Honestly, I'm down for a rematch." Bolt said, with a smile.

"Good, we can go to Sanctum. They have the perfect place for a sparing match."

"So, you want us to go find the base or...?" Aaron trailed off, waiting for Bolt's answer.

"No, we'll go later. Maybe tomorrow. This might take a while." Bolt said, turning toward the three. "Go and explore Mistral, I'll call when I'm ready."

With a nod, Aaron walked off, probably going to look for food. Rae and Mystic went another way, planning on seeing what they couldn't when they were here last. Bolt turned back toward Argent, hands in his pockets. "I'm ready when you are."

**Setting: Sanctum Academy**

Bolt followed Argent to Sanctum Academy, planning to have their rematch in a proper battle area. He followed her to Sanctum's amphitheater. It was the same as Beacon's, just with more wood. They went to the middle of the amphitheater, taking their places. Argent stood to the opposite side while Bolt stood on the side closet to him. Argent looked at Bolt, drawing her arm length long swords.

"Are you ready to get take down?" Argent said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Oh, that's how we're playing it?" Bolt asked rhetorically, pulling out his pistols, and also taking a stance. "Alright then."

The two stared each other down, waiting for the other to move. Surprisingly, the one who moved first was Bolt. He charged Argent, at normal speeds. Argent raced to meet her opponent as she combined her swords into a swordstaff. Argent swung her staff, which caused Bolt to act fast. Bolt slide underneath the staff, quickly turning his body around to fire at Argent. Argent blocked the bullets with her sword staff, spinning it around to protect herself. Bolt threw one of his guns, which caught Argent off guard. She dodged the gun, quickly blocking a sword strike. Metal clashed against metal she the two women engaged in combat. Royal blue eyes stared into Midnight blue eyes, trying to see what move the other was going to make.

Bolt used his foot to push himself onto Argent before using the other and placing it on Argent's blade. Bolt then kicked off the blade while grabbing his second pistol off his thigh. He fired at Argent who dashed ahead, avoiding the bullets that landed behind her and holes they formed when they hit the ground. Argent, now below an airborne Bolt, shifted her swordstaff into it's bow form. She shot out a fire dust bolt to strike from beneath, except Bolt was able to move his body to the left before the bolt could connect. Bolt swiftly landed on the ground, right next to his other gun. Bolt picked it up, hovering it to magnetically place it on his sides.

"Magnets. That makes so much sense." Bolt smiled at Argent's, gripping his sword.

"Yeah, custom made." Bolt said, running at Argent, at normal speeds again.

Argent aimed her weapon at Bolt, firing two bolts of lightning dust at Bolt who flipped backward to avoid one of them. Bolt then sliced the other with his sword, maintaining his balance. Bolt used his semblance to run around Argent. All she saw was a lightning bolt running around her as dust started picking up. She could tell that Bolt was moving faster than he did during the tournament. She was able to she him the last time.

Instead of activating her semblance immediately, she loaded up a fire dust bolt in her weapon. Argent followed Bolt, watching to see where he'd be at next. Once she figured it out, she fired the bolt, causing it to explode right in front of Bolt. Bolt went tumbling down, shocked by Argent's attack. Bolt recovered, facing Argent as she shifted her weapon back into swords. Bolt smirked as he opened his left hand, electricity sparking in between his fingers.

Argent was surprised when a sword formed in Bolt's hand. "You've learned a new trick?"

"Yeah, wanna see who's better?" Bolt responded, both swords on hand, Argent smirking in response.

The two charged each other, ready to really start the fight. Their swords clashed, metal clashing with a construct. Argent was surprised that the lightning blade was actually a solid, it didn't look like it at all. Bolt kicked Argent in the stomach, causing her to stumble. She quickly recovered, running at Bolt. Bolt threw his lightning blade at Argent, who raised her sword to block. What Argent wasn't expecting was to be tripped.

Bolt faked Argent out, making it seem like his sword was going to hit her. He knew that his lightning blade copy doesn't stay solid while he's not holding it, and use it to his advantage. Argent stood back up, shifting her weapon back into it's bow form. She fired three dust bolts. One was fire, another was ice, and the last was wind. Bolt ran at Argent, moving a little faster than normal. Bolt side-stepped the fire dust bolt, clipping it with his finger, causing it to explode. He resummoned his lightning blade, allowing the copy blade to freeze. He ducked under the wind dust, running straight at Argent. She shifted her bow into swords and blocked Bolt's strike, parrying him off to the side.

The two stood on opposite sides of each other, allowing the other to catch their breath. Bolt stood up straight, letting his guard down. "You wanna take this up a notch?"

Argent smirked as her eyes changed from deep blue turn a bright golden yellow, her iris resembling a dragon's eye. Bolt eyes sparking with lightning as he put his hands together. Bolt then separated his hands, creating lots electricity around him.

**Setting: Mistral **

Somewhere in the markets of Mistral, Aaron walked around, looking at items and enjoying his time. He saw loads of cool things and items that he wished he could buy. He walked up to a booth selling clothes and blankets, seeing if he wanted or needed something. He noticed that he'd been wearing his Shade Academy uniform since AMBR got back together. Even though he liked the uniform, he thought it might be time for a change. He looked around the booth before spotting the perfect thing. A black and red headband. Aaron picked it up, examining it and seeing if it was the right size. He looked at the tag, seeing that the headband was only 40 Lien, and that it was the perfect size. Aaron instantly gave the owner the Lien and walked off, happily putting his new headband over his forehead.

Aaron walked around the markets, even happier than when he came. He walked up to another booth, that was selling cape like items. Aaron immediately got his Lien out, he was _so_ getting a cape. He looked at his options; red, black, or white. He settled on black, thinking that he had a little to much red on him. He paid for the cape, swiftly putting it on as he walked along the market. It was a short cape, only reaching half of his body, but he didn't care. Aaron loved the cape.

As he continued walking, he saw someone with a booth with "Sanctum Academy" written above it. Aaron walked over to check it out, wondering what it was about. Aaron noticed that there was a man with a megaphone standing in front of the booth. The man was blonde, his hair in a mohawk. He also had a beard and was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with black pants.

"Come get your schedules if you're planning on attending Sanctum Academy, and eventually Haven!" The man shouted, holding up pieces of paper.

"Yo, what's flyer's for?" Aaron asked, spooking the man.

"Oh, well, I was tasked with recruiting students for Sanctum." The man stated simply, noticing Aaron's uniform. "Are you a Shade Academy student? Why are you all the way in Mistral?"

"I, uh, I graduated and they let me keep the uniform." Aaron half lied. He didn't graduate, but they did let him keep the uniform. "I'm also looking for someone named Cinder."

"Oh, congrats." The man said, going behind his booth to take a seat, his face falling a little.

"Is there anything you can tell me about Haven? I heard something happened at the academy, and the Professor went missing." Aaron said. If he was going to talk to people, he might as well get information.

"Well, all I know was that the White Fang were there and that most of the academy burned down. The burns were due to a woman with fire like abilities." The man said, his face looked like he knew more than he was telling.

"Is that it? You look like it hurt you to hear about it."

"I was a student at Haven, a long time ago. I went there with my best friend. I was on a team, with the woman who burned the place down. Her name was Cinder." The man said, sadly. "Honestly I thought she died, but when the news reported that the she was wanted, I gained a little hope."

"Oh." Was all Aaron could say. He felt bad and wasn't even sure if they were talking about the same Cinder. "We might be talking about the same Cinder."

"Maybe. The one I knew was named Cinder Fall. Yours?" Aaron shrugged at the man.

"No clue what her last name is. Never figured it out, or I forgot. One of the two." Aaron said, scratching his head. "Well, I gotta go. Have a good day."

The man waved Aaron off, who waved back. Aaron thought about what he was told as he explored. The Cinder he's looking for might have went to Haven, and that could mean that they wouldn't have to waste time looking in base across Remnant. Aaron smiled as he came up with an idea. He was going to pitch to the others about looking in Haven for info on Cinder, he just hoped it would work.

Somewhere else in the markets, Rae and Mystic were exploring, looking for items the team needed. Rae got some dust, even though she was the only one who really needed it. Mystic got some clothing items, buying a jacket and some new shoes. She also got weapon parts for her ax. The two girls honestly just enjoyed Mistral for what it was, waiting until Bolt called them. They were loving the positive atmosphere and were regretted not exploring before.

**Setting: Sanctum **

Bolt and Argent continued their fight. Bolt used the same tactic he used during the Vytal Festival, stay out of Argent's sight. It had worked for Bolt, for a few minutes. Argent worked around Bolt's tactic, able to keep up with him. Bolt then picked up the pace, from Mach 5 to 7. Argent was able to predict Bolt's attacks, thanks to her semblance. Bolt had troubles landing a hit on Argent, so he decided to forcefully adapt. He had a plan to get past Argent's prediction semblance. Bolt ran at Argent, sword in hand. Argent raised her swords up to block, ready for Bolt's attack. Bolt swung his sword, clashing with Argent's. Bolt then used his foot to hook onto Argent's leg pulling her down with him. Bolt quickly put his hands up, using his upper body strength to flipped and throw Argent to the other side of the fighting space with his legs.

Before Argent could get back up and retaliate, she heard her Scroll go off. She left the arena and walked over to her Scroll. Bolt threw his hands up. "I win?"

"No, my team needs me." Argent said, sheathing her swords. "And I need to go right now."

"Oh, well, if we meet again, we can finish our fight?" Bolt offered, Argent nodding in response.

"I accept." She said before exiting the Amphitheater. Bolt sheathed Vorpal, made sure his pistols were on his legs before leaving. He pulled out his Scroll, telling the others that he was ready. He waited outside Sanctum, putting her earbuds in to speed up the wait.

After an hour, AMBR was whole again. Bolt noticed that Rae and Mystic had bags, along with some additional clothing. They others also noticed that Bolt didn't really have any scratches or rips on him, which they guessed meant that he won the fight. Rae also noticed that Bolt's aura barely went down in the two hours they were apart.

"Guys, I have an idea." Aaron spoke up, causing everyone to turn to him.

"What is it?" Bolt asked, and before Aaron could started he continued. "And no, I'm not helping you pick up any girls."

"First off all, that's not what I was going to say." Aaron said, slightly offended. "And second off all, I don't need your help for that."

"Whatever, just tell us your idea."

"Alright, so, how about instead of checking the bases for info, why don't we just look to see if Haven has any info on Cinder." Aaron suggested, the others looking at him in confusion.

"Why would we do that?" Rae asked, Bolt saying something before Aaron could answer, again.

"Where did you get the headband and cape from?" He asked, finally noticing the black and red headband on his head. It was distracting because it made Aaron's pink hair stand up more than it should.

"Not important!" Rae shouted, regaining their attention. "Explain yourself."

"I heard from a man that he knew a Cinder when he was a huntsmen-in-training at Haven. Maybe it's the same one as ours."

"That can't be, we don't even know her last name. Or her current age." Rae said, shutting Aaron's plan down. "It doesn't make sense if Cinder went to Haven and then became what she is and only look like she's in her late thirties to early forties."

"He said her last name was Fall, which is a weird last name. But-"

"That's her. That's our Cinder." Bolt interrupted. "We do Aaron's plan, after dark."

"Let's do it morning. So we can check the base, too." Mystic offered, everyone agreeing.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired." Aaron said, yawning.

"I could use some sleep." Rae said, pulling out the Lien in her pocket before mumbling to herself. "How much does an Inn cost here?"

"You can sleep when he get to the Inn," Bolt said, looking up at the academy in the distance. "Then we're going to Haven, and we're finding Cinder."

* * *

**Coming up: Know Your Enemy**


	3. Know Your Enemy

Team AMBR were heading out toward Haven, making sure not to look suspicious as they did so. They had heard that Cinder had went to Haven Academy before turning into the Cinder they currently know. They planned on going to Haven and get the records and see the places Cinder would go, and if that went cold, they would check the base. They also wanted to know her past, see what made her into Salem's minion. They needed to know why Cinder turned out the way she did. The four climbed up a building, running across rooftops, making sure not to make noise.

Bolt, using his semblance, ran towards the last building before the others. He waited for the others to ran up next to them, staring at Haven. They looked at the academy, trying to find any easy entry points. Bolt and Rae found the same one, a open window on the top floor. They looked to each other, knowing what the other was thinking.

"Okay, here's the plan." Bolt said, bring the attention to him. "Rae and I will sneak in while you two go to the bases."

"What? Why do you get to have the fun?" Aaron complained, arms crossed.

"That's not what this is about." Bolt said, rolling his eyes. "You can't do stealth. That's the only reason."

"I can do stealth."

"You set a building... on fire."

"For good reasons!"

"Whatever! Just stop yelling!" Rae said, face palming. "Just go. You too, Mystic. If I can't watch him, I need another responsible person to."

"Right." Mystic agreed, taking the scroll from Rae's hands.

"Ugh! Fine." Aaron said, leading Mystic down and off the roofs.

**Setting: Haven**

After Aaron and Mystic left, Bolt and Rae snuck in to Haven. They were able to get in pretty easy, going in through the window they spotted. Before moving, they looked around the hallway they ended up in. The hall was empty, except for some furniture and posters promoting school events. Bolt looked down the ends of the hallways, seeing that one way was a dead end. They ended up walking the other way, slowly. They didn't know if anyone were here, because the school was reopening after certain events. Bolt peeked around the corner of the hall, not seeing anyone, before going to the left. Rae followed Bolt, making sure to watch their backs.

Rae was surprised at Bolt's knowledge of Haven's halls. She knew her way around, but it was like Bolt knew the halls like the back of his hand. She was impressed, being that she was here the long alongside Mystic. Rae noticed that Bolt was checking every corner, and every dark place as they snuck through the halls and she wondered why. It was like he was scanning for traps. Usually she didn't want to know what happened in people's personal lives, like she wouldn't want someone knowing hers, but this was interesting.

"You sure know your way around for only being here once." Rae whispered, as Bolt aimed Rosé down the hallway.

"Well, I was here for pretty long." Bolt replied, going down the hall and stopping at a set of double doors.

Bolt opened the doors, revealing an all to familiar place. Rae had been in this place a couple times. It was the Grand Hall of Haven Academy, which led toward the Professor's old office. Rae walked over to the railing, looking down to the ground, since they were on the second floor. She scanned the dim light room, making sure that no one was here. She turned as she confirmed that the coast was clear and headed to the stairs to their right.

They quickly got down to the first floor, Rae heading for the set of stairs in the middle of the room. Rae immediately ran up the two stairways that join together at the top, that led to the Professor's old office. Bolt stood on the ground level, frozen with what looked like regret. As he stared at the statue, the memories of the events that transpired here flowing back to him. He remembered when everyone got ambushed by Cinder, with Raven right there with her. When he fought Duke and Saturn at the same time, which he actually enjoyed the more he thought about it. When he killed Saturn, leaving him to bleed out, alone. And when he was too slow to save Weiss.

Rae was halfway up the stairs when she turned around to see Bolt, still standing at the end of the other stairs. She looked at his face, surprisingly seeing a hint of regret. That was something she almost never saw in his eyes. She walked back down the stairs, standing by his side.

"Hey," Bolt looked at Rae, blinking out of his thoughts. "It's just us two. You can talk to me, if you need it."

"No, it's just..." Bolt sighed as he looked up to the roof. "This was where I fought Cinder, with my sisters and friends."

"What else happened?" Rae asked, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"That statue," Rae followed Bolt's gaze, which lead her to the statue, confused. "It an elevator that leads into a vault, which hold the Mistral Relic. That's what most of the whole fight was about. It's were I killed Saturn."

"Wait," Rae looked back to Bolt in shock. "You killed Saturn?!"

"Yeah." Bolt nodded, clearly not happy about something. "It was the first time, in a long time, that I killed someone with the intent of killing someone. Every other time it just happened."

"Oh..." Rae didn't know how to respond, but she had to do something to make Bolt feel better. "You shouldn't let that worry you. Leave it in the past. You're not a monster, like the others. Unlike them, you have the choice."

Bolt nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem. Now, let's find some information." Rae said, before running back up the stairs, this time Bolt was right behind her. "And after this, tell me about that Relic."

**Setting: Professor Lionheart's Office**

The two walked into the office, and were impressed. Neither of them had been in the office and were surprised at how amazing it looked. The office is shaped as a half-circle, with another, smaller half-circle jutting out to the room's front door. There was a large desk made of mahogany dominates the space of the autumn-colored office. Rae walked over to the desk, saying that it was what they were looking for. Bolt decided to let Rae do what she needed, and looked around some more. In the right-hand corner, for a more comfortable setting, are a small table and chairs for guests. Bolt turned to the front door as he backed up into the middle of the room.

Two tall bookshelves flanked the front door. Spanning the far wall of the office and above the windows, is a single shelf lined with books, boxes and lamps. Ladders were present to provide access to the high shelves. Much of the floor was open, and a large, rectangular green rug led from the door to the desk.

"Bolt, come look at this." Bolt turned toward Rae, seeing that she had loads of holograms up as she sat in the chair.

"What?" Bolt walked up next to her, confused on what he was reading.

"I found something about Cinder. It's the files that Haven had when she was a student." Rae said, making the folder bigger and easier to read. "They appear to have a lot."

"It also appears that she was a mommy's girl before one of her birthdays, proving herself useful to her father when he took her out on a hunt." Bolt read, head tilted as he did so.

"Wow, you're a slow reader. I'm four paragraphs after that." Rae chuckled, in her hand. "Didn't they teach you how to super read or something?"

"Ha ha, you read it then." Bolt said, facing the screens again.

Skimming down a few paragraphs, Rae cleared her throat, getting ready to summarize the paragraphs for Bolt. "After many hunts with her father, she became really good with a bow. Her father also stopped going with her on the hunts, tasking her with the job. Talk about her hunting skills went around in their village, and her father went to their local bar, soaking up the glory. The daughter, Cinder, got addicted to the thrill of the hunt. She had never been more happy in her life."

"Huh, that's good to kno-"

"Shh. I'm reading." Rae said, placing her finger on his lips. "By the time she was thirteen, she was better than her dad. She had been able to spot an animal, and put it down, before he even saw it. Her father was starting to hate the rumors that were going around, and it didn't get any better when they came across an Ursa Major. Cinder defeated the Ursa, releasing an arrow into its mouth, jamming it into it's throat and back out it's neck. When the news reached the villages bar, her father had enough. There were rumors of her becoming a Huntress."

Bolt took the information in, and was surprised. He expected Cinder to have been like how she was from the start, but she wasn't like that at all. She was a normal girl, trying her best to survive. _"What could have turned her into the monster that she is now? Well, I can't talk but..."_

"Cinder's father was teased when he went to the bar, some saying that she and her father had swapped roles. That she was the man of the family and that her father should doll up and find a nice man to marry." Rae chuckled at that, before continuing. "Her father broke a bottle over the man's head and spent the next week in a cell. When her father returned, he locked up Cinder's bow, told she'd never hunt again, and to give up on any dreams of becoming a Huntress."

_"Wow, salty much."_

"Her father made her life the same as it was before, miserable. Cinder tolerated years of her father's cold rule. She expressed her resentment through her chores. She would leave piles of dust in the corners of her father's chair, when she was sweeping. She was careless when cleaning his things that they had slipped out of her hand and broke. She didn't care about the punishments he'd given her, the bow had given her the confidence to defy her father."

"Wait, what's this?" Bolt asked, pointing down a couple of paragraphs. "Her mother was sick when winter came."

"Oh, so now you want to read ahead?"

"Whatever."

"Now that we're both finally on the same paragraph, I don't have to summarize." Rae said, before going back to the file. "As more time passed it quickly became apparent that the upcoming winter was different than others that came before. Not only was it approaching Anima much sooner than normal, it also carried with it an almost sinister fury, unmatched by any previous storm. Freezing winds and merciless snowfall struck with the intensity of an avalanche almost daily, each powerful gust draining what little heat came from the sun. Crop fields were crushed, animals froze to death in their insufficient shelters, and transporting goods became an impossibility in the nightmarish conditions. Before long, even the largest cities appeared to be deserted ghost towns, no human or faunus daring to face the winter's chill."

"Damn, that's as harsh as Atlas on a good day." Bolt said, shocked that winter had got that intense in Anima.

"The conditions outside made it impossible to get a healer, leaving the Cinder to try and tend to Mother all on her own. Her father couldn't be bothered to care, not that Cinder cared. Her only concern was Mother, and trying to some way help her through the fever. She tried everything she could think of, even neglecting her own health just to keep a close eye on her mother. Desperation and guilt filled her in equal measure, either begging her mother to recover or apologizing profusely, believing she was to blame for Mother's current condition. Her mother would simply smile a small weak smile, one hand cupping her daughter's cheek, wiping the tears from her face."

"Later that same night, well after the girl had succumbed to exhaustion, her mother passed away, her hand still holding her daughter's own." As Rae kept reading, Bolt turned his head toward the door. He felt like he was being watched. He walked over to it, which made Rae looked up at him. "Where are you going?"

"Hurry and grab the info from the files." Bolt said, drawing Rosé.

"What, why?" She asked, putting her scroll on the table and downloading the files.

"Someone else is here." Bolt said, leaving the room and leaving Rae alone in the office.

**Setting: Grand Hall**

Bolt ran back into the Grand Hall, his gut feeling telling him that something was here. He scanned the area, not seeing anything. It was darker than it was before, almost pitch black expect for the windows letting the dim moon light beam in. He quickly turned behind him, something scurry across. He heard it again, whipping around with Rosé aimed at the direction. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something crawling on the wall, hearing something else to his left. Before Bolt knew it, he was surrounded. The lights slowly came back on, revealing to Bolt that he was right, he was surrounded. By what? He wasn't sure.

He looked around at what surrounded him. They looked similar to the Grimm that he and Aaron fought when they first met Future Cinder, but they also had some differences. They didn't seem like Grimm at all, they felt more like zombies. Instead of the black skin like normal Grimm, they had leathery black and light purple skin. From how some climbed in front a very small window, and started walking with no pain, Bolt guessed that they had no bones. In or out of their bodies. Some of them had four arms, with sharp claws. Bolt noticed that a small group of them had six clawed arms. He also noticed that their faces lacked any visible eyes, and their mouths were equipped with razor-sharp teeth.

As some roared at him, he could see that the insides of their mouths possessed a second row of teeth. They also had two pointed protrusions that spread out from behind their heads. From how some walked, Bolt could tell that they could adopt both bipedal and quadrupedal postures to walk, and probably run. They were some that were on two feet as well. They also had no semblance of hair or fur. These things made Bolt really regret learning about the human body. He slowly reached for his sword, which caused them to attack.

Bolt ran out of the middle and fired his guns. He got some of them, while the smarter ones guessed the others as shields. Bolt sliced the ones that used their comrades as shields when they got close, slicing them in half. Bolt ducked under the ones that jumped at him, shooting them point blank in the head. He sliced through the Grimm as they rapidly came in to attack. Even though some were smart enough to walk on two legs, rather than two arms and legs, they attacked like mindless drones. This made them easy to take out, but Bolt could understand their use. An large army of these versus almost anything, these Grimm would have a high chance at a win.

Suddenly, they stopped, moving back to the Grand Hall entrance door. That's when Bolt heard metal boots land on the ground. He looked at the entrance to see a bright yellow circle among the darkness of the Grimm, and all to familiar circle.

"Duke." Bolt growled as an older Duke Reaper walked into the light.

"Hello, Bolt." The older Duke smirked as the Grimm behind him snarled, wanting to be allowed to attack again. "It's been awhile."

Bolt scanned Future Duke's clothing. Duke wore an open jet black blazer over a yellow waistcoat and grey shirt with a black strap going across his chest. The strap is filled with different types of dust and pouches to assist him in battle. Duke also has two bulky shoulder pads for extra protection. Below the belt, Duke wore black fitted pants and grey lightweight knee pads that are also connected with two belts that attached around his legs. For footwear, Duke wore modern style ankle high boots in Bright yellow, underneath the boots is a rare material that give Duke extra grip so that he doesn't trip, and can't get tripped when throwing the shield. His gloves have strong electromagnetic panels that allows Duke to retrieve his shield more easily.

"Yeah, It's been a while since I saw Past Duke." Bolt said, sword in hand.

"I am that Duke, you know. I'm just better than I was back then." Future Duke responded, his smirk never leaving. "Isn't this fitting? Our rematch to be were the last time we battled?"

"I feel like you should be saying that to the future me. He'd appreciate that more." Bolt said as Duke roared in anger. _"Yep. Still gets pissed off by a jab to the ego."_

Duke threw his shield at Bolt, who dodged it. Duke jumped up, planning on kicking Bolt. Bolt side-stepped the kick, punching Duke in the back. Bolt and Duke went into hand-to-hand combat. Bolt was surprised, this Duke was actually a good fighter without his shield. Past Duke was terrible at physical combat with out his shield, and it didn't help that he always got matched up with Bolt. Duke punched Bolt in the face, stunning him, before putting his hand up. He extended his palm, activating the electromagnetic panels.

Bolt recovered, unsheathing his sword. Before he could strike, he was smacked in the face with a shield. Duke then laid in to Bolt, punching and hitting him with his shield. As Duke beat down on Bolt, the latter saw Rae walk through the doors.

"Hey, I got the... what the hell?" Rae looked down to see Duke, beating down on Bolt while the strange looking Grimm watched. She looked at Bolt eye's, seeing the plan in his eyes. She walked down the stairs, silently, sneaking up on Duke.

Bolt struggled to dodge or block Duke's attacks. This future version of him was a way better fighter than the current version of him. Bolt was finally able to grab Duke's fist when he jumped back, shocking the evil soldier. Duke threw his shield at Bolt, who dodged it easily, allowing it to move past him and kill a Grimm behind him. As Duke went to attack, he suddenly felt tired. While Bolt was fighting Duke, Rae snuck up behind him and drained his aura with her semblance. Rae crouched down, allowing Bolt to punch him back and into the statue.

"Thanks for that." Bolt thanked, rubbing his nose. "I think he bruised my nose."

"Well, you're lucky I finished getting the files." Rae said, turning towards the Grimm at the Grand Hall entrance. "What are those?"

"Don't know, and I really don't care. Let's leave." Bolt said, walking toward the stairs they came in from. They slowly walked past the Grimm, watching as they snarled at them.

As the two walked up the stairs, they heard an explosion. They both looked at each other, thinking the same thing. "Aaron!"

**Setting: Quad**

Rae and Bolt ran into the Quad area of Haven. Luckily, the Grimm didn't follow them, giving them time to breath and rest. Rae sat on the floor as she reflected on what she saw, and learned today. Those Grimm were going to give her nightmares for weeks. Bolt looked around for the explosions origin. He knew Aaron was behind it, he just needed to know where it was at.

_"Guys," _Aaron voice echoed through out Bolt and Rae's heads, his tone made him sound guilty. _"We have a problem."_

"_What did you do this time?"_ Rae asked, clearly angry. _"We heard the explosion from Haven."_

"_It wasn't me!"_ Aaron countered, defensively. _"Look, when we got close to the base, it exploded. And we're fine, thanks for asking." _

_"I don't believe you. Mystic did that really happen?"_ Rae asked, hearing Aaron mentally groan. "And are you okay?"

_"Yes, that's what happened."_ Mystic confirmed. _"And the second base went off radar, and I can't pull it up. And yes, I'm fine."_

_"Alright, get out of the area."_ Bolt said, mentally sighing.

_"Already got that covered."_ Aaron responded, still upset. _"First thing we did." _

_"Good, meet us back at the airship." _

_"What about the other base?"_ Mystic questioned.

_"Until Rae can get it back on the scanner, we'll just have to go to the base in Vacuo."_ Bolt informed as he and Rae made it out of Haven. _"And hope that it's the last one."_

* * *

**The Hybrid Grimm are hybrids of humans and Grimm, hence the name. They came from a virus that Salem made to kill the human and Faunus races. They don't appear like normal Grimm. They look like zombies, in a way. They have no bones, in or out of their body, allowing them to do anything with their bodies. They have leathery black and light purple skin, unlike normal Grimm. Some have two sets of clawed arms, equaling to four arms, although there are some that have been shown to have six. Their faces lack any visible eyes, and their mouths are equipped with razor-sharp teeth. The insides of their mouths possess another row of teeth. Unique to the latter, 2 pointed protrusions that spread out from behind their heads. They can adopt both bipedal and quadrupedal postures to walk and run, while the smarter ones can run on their two feet. They have no head of hair or fur.**

**The Hybrids do have minds of their own, but when they are assigned to person, they can only listen to that person. So if their handler becomes unconscious, the Hybrid's can't do anything.**

**Coming up: We've Got Fans**


	4. We've Got Fans

**Setting: Aaron's Training Ground**

"Okay, what are we doing again?" Aaron brought the others here for something but, they didn't know why. Aaron just told them to follow him without even telling them what for. "And this isn't a secret training ground, it just a small clearing between Vacuo's desert and Vale's forest. Aka, the border."

"We're here to try out new team attacks. The only good, and unstoppable, ones we have are the versions of Absolute Carnage, Tri-Attack, Portal Tennis, Leapfrog, and Zeus' Lightning Bolt. Cinder will probably know about those and will be able to counter them so, we'll need to come up with new ones." Aaron explain, motion to the area around them. "And so, that's why were are here. To outsmart someone from the future."

"Oh, why didn't you say so before? You had me worried?" Rae said as she took a sigh of relief.

"What? You? Worried? Now I know you're joking." Aaron said causing Rae to groan.

"Aren't we supposed to be finding the base here in Vacuo?" Bolt asked, Aaron waving his finger in front of him.

"Nah, we can do that tomorrow or something. I have new ideas and I'm going to forget if we don't try them now!" Aaron said, running over to a clear spot in the sand.

"We can worry about that later. Just write the ideas down. It'll be easier if-"

"No can do Raebird! Once I have something I need to try it!" Aaron said, using one of Rae's most hated nicknames. Bolt could tell she was losing her temper and stepped in.

"Alright, Hothead! What ideas do you have?" Bolt asked, hoping Rae won't be sent in a rage by the pyro.

Rae walked over to Mystic, she was taking deep breathes as she sat next to Mystic, trying to not get angry. Rae then laid down on her back as the two boys practiced new ideas. Mystic was writing in a notebook when Rae came to lay next to her.

"I'm so sick of him sometimes." Rae said as she looked up at the sky. She looked to Mystic and saw what she was doing. "What are you writing about? A love letter to Bolt?"

"W-What? No! That's not what I'm doing!" Mystic stuttered, she didn't expect Rae to ask that. They both flinched as a stray fireball came at them and it the tree behind them. Rae glared at Bolt and Aaron, who acted like nothing happened, before going back to Mystic.

"...Then what are you doing?" Rae asked as Mystic used one of her semblances to put out the fire.

"I'm writing team attack ideas encase Aaron's don't work, which they usually don't." Mystic said as she scribbled something out. "And possible ways to not have the base blow up in our faces, again."

"Looks like a love letter to me." Rae said chuckling as Mystic lightly hit her.

"For the last time, it not a love letter." Mystic said, causing Rae to laugh, not being able to hold it in. "Changing the subject, what did you find at Haven?"

"Oh, we found Cinder's file. It had everything she'd done while attending Haven. We even found an auto biography she made." Rae said, with a sigh. "But we didn't exactly get to finish it."

"Why?"

"Duke from the future showed up with these freaky Grimm. They were the worst things I've seen in my life." Rae said, Mystic eyebrows raising in interest. "Trust me, they were nightmare inducting."

"Can I see Cinder's auto biography?" Mystic asked, putting away her notebook.

"Not yet," The green haired ex-heiress responded. "It's a long story, and we all need to hear it."

Mystic's ears twitched as she heard something. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Rae asked as she sat up. Mystic stood up and scanned the area.

"I think she hears us." Mystic heard the whisper and looked towards it. "Might as well introduce ourselves."

Four kids, that looked to be fourteen to seventeen years old, walked up to Rae and Mystic. They looked slightly embarrassed because they were caught. The two older girls didn't know what to say or do, they were just kids. There were three girls and one boy. One of the girls had almost pitch black hair. Another had long, bright blue hair while the other girl had short, light brown hair. They all were wearing school uniforms, that neither of the girls recognized. The boy was a Faunus and from the looks of it, he was a bat Faunus.

"Hi, um..." The pitch black haired girl said as she approached Mystic. "I... Wow, it's in honor to meet you."

"Thanks, I guess." neither Mystic or Rae were expecting that to come out of the younger girl's mouth. "Um... who are you?"

"R-Right! My name's Ava Fox. That's Zeno Fury. that's my sister, Robyn Fox and my best friend, Erica Diaries," she said as she pointed to the Faunus boy, then to the brown haired girl and then to the blue haired girl, in order.

"Oh, what's going on here?" Aaron asked as he walked up next to Rae and Bolt appeared next to Mystic.

"Apparently, we've got fans." Rae answered.

"Oh my god! It's actually them!" Erica whisper-shouted as she lightly hit Ava, repeatedly.

"Guys, you're embarrassing us." Zeno said calmly.

"Wait, I know you guys. Aren't you that upcoming team from Shade? Team AZRE, right?" Aaron asked and Erica almost fainted.

"You know them Aaron?"

"Yeah, I saw them fight in a scrimmage match while I was at Shade. They wiped the floor with the other team." Aaron complemented.

"You saw that fight a-and you were impressed?" Ava asked stunned. She honestly thought they did terrible and she beat herself up for it.

"Well, if Aaron is impressed with your fighting then, so am I." Bolt said, with a smile. "Aaron barely is impressed with anything that isn't stronger than him."

"Fuck off."

"Wow."

"That means a lot to us. We're really big fans of AMBR." Robyn said and from what they could tell, Robyn and Zeno were the mature ones out of the four.

"We have fans? I never thought that would happen. I mean, Bolt goes off and on Atlas' wanted list. Mystic is a former member of the White Fang. Aaron's just an idiot and I'm just a run away Pri- I mean, just the team healer." Rae said, quickly fixing her mistake.

"Yeah, we're just a couple of - Hey!"

"We know. But, you guys are inspiring. You go against the rules and use all of your power to help others. You guys don't listen to others, and do it how you want too. You guys never give up, nothing ever stops you, even when you're out matched." Robyn said and Rae blushed and she hoped no one saw it. Sadly for her, Mystic saw but she kept quiet about it.

"I mean, that's not really something good to be known for or to look up to, but we'll take it."

"Well, if you guys are fans of us... how about a fight? Nothing serious, just Team vs Team. How does that sound?" Bolt asked. Ava and Erica had the biggest grins on their faces.

"Absolutely! Yes!"

A few minutes later, both teams got ready to fight. AMBR stood near the Vale-Vacuo border while AZRE stood more on Vacuo's side of the border. Ava had a sword on her back that Bolt heard her call Absalom. Zeno had two bladed gauntlets, Erica called Bat Blades. Robyn had a sword in her hands, it looked like it had a zipper in the middle and Erica had what seemed like a giant axe in her hands. AZRE also wore their combat attire.

Ava wore a black sleeveless insulated bodysuit with a stand up collar and a zipper. It had a couple of white colored lines on the suit, notably around the shoulders and the neck, black trim on the upper front part of the suit. She has a pair of sliver armored gauntlets with blue trimmings, with a pair of arm-length black fingerless gloves. She has a blue belt with a pocket, a pair of silver-colored cuisses, elaborate greaves below her mid-thigh, and a black mid-calf boots with blue colored trim. She also had a silver v-shaped necklace around her neck.

Zeno wore a black and red jacket and a red t-shirt underneath his jacket. He also wore a pair of red gloves and red track pants with black straps around the shins with a pair of black and red boots. His jacket and shirt have holes for his wings, so he can spread them out and use them.

Robyn wore a fuschia-colored hakamashita on her upper body with rose-colored accents, along with sleeves that reach her thighs. Her sash is also colored a sapphire tone. She wore a blue armband. Her hakama on her lower body is tucked into the yukata, and she wears shinobi-tabi on her feet for quick movements.

Erica wore a white v-neck blouse that gathers into ruffles at the ends of the sleeves. The part of the blouse below her chest is tucked into a pair of waist-high shorts with an attached garterbelt that keeps her dark brown stockings hoisted up by two silver rings. Over her blouse-dress is a light red tunic bound at the waist and slit twice near the front, lined with pale red designs. Over this is a black chestplate lined with silver for protection, which matches the shoulder plate on her left shoulder. She wore a glove on her right hand the same color as her tunic, and a pair of calf-high boots to match. The boots are wedges and have white collars sticking up from underneath, so they are somewhat cut down the middle and lined with silver. The heels themselves are the same pale red as the edges of her tunic. Over all of this, she wears a light blue tunic for both added flare and conservative purposes, as well as the same silver v-shaped necklace around her neck.

"You guys ready?" Aaron asked the members of Team AZRE.

"Yes, we're ready, Aaron." Ava said as she lead her team over to AMBR.

"Rae, you get Robyn. Mystic, you get Erica. Bolt, you get Ava. I got Zeno." Aaron said as they walked over. He was ready to throw down.

"Watch your target." Ava said to her team, who nodded in response.

"Go!" Aaron said, taking to the skies.

"Zeno!"

"On it!" Zeno said as he opened his bat wings and flew up to meet Aaron.

"Can ya keep?" Aaron asked challenging Zeno, with a finger.

"Let's see, Aaron." Zeno said firing solar energy at Aaron, which surprised him.

Rae followed Robyn in the nearby forest. Bolt and Ava watched them run away, smiling as they looked to Mystic and Erica's fight. They looked evenly matched from their prospective, their weapons clashing. They looked back at each other, getting into fighting stances. Ava charged Bolt, who waited for her to come closer.

"Take this!" Erica shouted, swinging her axe at Mystic.

Mystic fired wind dust arrows at Erica but she deflected them with her axe, Ironbark. The arrows did send Erica off balance every time she deflected them. Mystic took her chance and ran at Erica. Erica, however, used her semblance to create a force field around herself and push Mystic back, sending her flying.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, Dragonslayer." Ava said as she pulled out her weapon set.

"Don't call me that." Bolt sighed as he face palmed. "Please."

"Right, sorry." Ava said as she charged Bolt.

The fight between Aaron and Zeno was a very heated one. Punches went flying and kicks were blazing. Aaron was surprisingly struggling to keep up with Zeno's punches, Zeno kicked Aaron down toward the ground knocking him down for the moment. The fight just made Aaron heated, in a good way. It made him want to push himself to his limits.

Bolt and Ava were also in the heat of battle. Ava was punching Bolt, but he kept dodging with ease. Ava was starting to get fustrated, she could land an attack on Bolt. She pulled out her sword, swinging at Bolt, who just blocked with his pistols.

"Dammit!" Ava said as she backed up, walking away from Bolt.

"Hmm?" Bolt had a confused look on his face. Ava's body began to split in two, then four, then six, until there was about 30 of her.

"Prepare to fight against the Ava Army!" All of Ava's clones said at once.

"Wow, that's actually intimidating." Bolt said, with complete honesty. "And cool."

Ava's clones ran toward Bolt to outnumber him. They came at him but Bolt dodged all of their attacks. Kicks and punches were thrown by both Bolt and Ava but, it was a one sided fight in favor of Bolt which wasn't a surprise to anyone. When any of the Ava's tried punched Bolt he would dodge or block their attacks but when Bolt punched, none of the Ava's could stop him because of how fast he was. Aaron and Mystic looked away from there fights to look at Bolt and Ava.

"So that's why Atlas wants him dead, huh?" Aaron said to himself. _"Man I would kill to see him against all of Atlas."_

"Hey! You're fighting me remember? Zeno asked getting angry as he charged him.

"_Wow, he really can take on armies by himself."_ Mystic thought as she fired an ice dust arrow in front of Erica, creating an ice wall.

She looked up as Aaron and Zeno flew over them. Aaron flew up in the sky, igniting his hands in fire. He proceed to rapidly throw them at Zeno. Zeno used his semblance to create a solar energy shield in front of him. Zeno flew through the fire balls, using the shield. Aaron couldn't see past the fire and received an uppercut by and energy shield. Zeno charged his semblance, firing a solar beam at Aaron, causing him to crash into the ground. Aaron flew past Bolt and Ava's clones as Bolt grabbed onto one of the clones.

Bolt threw an Ava clone at another clone knocking them down.A few clones came at Bolt with Ava's Absalom, which was countered by Bolt making a sword out of lightning. **Bolt Time** suddenly activated and Bolt quickly went to take down the hordes of Ava in what seemed seconds to her but was a couple of minutes for Bolt. After time returned to normal, Ava's clones were all laid out on the floor defeated, Auras broken.

"Good job, Ava. You did great." Bolt said helping the original Ava sit up.

"Thank you, I appreciate it a lot." she responded as she leaned on Bolt for support.

Bolt looked towards Aaron and Zeno. Zeno looked to be overpowered but, it also looked like Aaron was holding back a little. They were having fun trying to prove who could overpower the other and no one wanted to stop their competition. They were both smiling as they flew through the air, firing lasers and fire balls at each other.

"_Zeno is shooting out solar beams from the sun…" _Bolt looked up as he realized something._ "_A_nd Aaron is basically a living sun, what an idiot. He's just lucky he has more experience or Zeno might've beat him."_

Aaron flared up his Aura, surrounding himself in flames. He charged Zeno, which the Faunus wasn't ready for. Zeno took multiple punches from Aaron, but there was something strange about it. The millisecond before he landed any punch on Zeno, Bolt could have sworn he saw what looked like blue flames. He just shrugged it off as Zeno fell to the floor.

"Man, you're a strong kid." Aaron said kneeling in front of Zeno's tired body.

"Thanks, means a lot to me." he breathed out.

"Hey, where's Rae and Robyn?" Aaron asked Bolt from across the field.

"Don't know. Last time I saw them they ran into the small part of the forest." Bolt pointed to the forest showing Aaron which part.

"Probably flirting with each other. I know you saw the way they looked at one another before the fight started."

"So, let them be."

"Yeah, you're right, but if one of them has lipstick all over their face, you owe me 10 Lien." Aaron said, reaching into his pocket. "My guess is Robyn."

"Deal!" Bolt said, reaching into his pocket. "Rae loves a flirt. I'm guessing Rae."

Mystic and Erica were both on the ground exhausted. Mystic leaned on Erica for support as she sat on the ground, out of breath.

"You did great, Erica." Mystic said into her shoulder. "I'm really tired."

"Same here, and thank you." She said falling backwards, bringing Mystic down with her. "I'm just gonna sleep now."

Robyn and Rae eventually walked out of the forest hand in hand. Rae had Robyn's red lipstick on her lips and face and Bolt looked towards Aaron with his hand extended out.

"I hate you." Aaron handed Bolt the Lien, who smirked as he did so.

"Wait you two made a bet?!" Rae yelled at the two boys.

"Aaron forced me." Bolt blamed as he pointed to the pink haired pyromaniac.

"What! You agreed!"

"Whatever," The boys immediately stopped arguing when heard that. Rae was okay with it? "I'm happy and I'll get over it."

"So you're not mad?" Aaron asked hiding behind Bolt, more like using him as a shield.

"Oh no, I'm mad, I'm just way more happy." Rae said, looking at Robyn with a genuine smile, holding her hand as she did so.

"So...Is this a thing now or..." Aaron asked, not liking the answer he got from the girl.

Rae turned to him and threw one of her Nightswift, in Escrima Sticks form, at Aaron, which he dodged. Rae ran at Aaron, which caused him to run while letting go of Bolt. He ran as far, and fast, as he could with Rae on his tail. Everyone laughed as they ran around the area screaming. Aaron tired to fly away, but found out that he couldn't for some reason.

"Wait, Rae, we can talk about this!" Aaron yelled as he ran and dodged dust-filled Nightswift.

"Stop running, you idiot!" Rae yelled before turning around to Bolt. "Bolt! stop laughing! You're next!"

"What did I do?" Bolt asked, hands up in defense.

"You agreed." Rae glared.

"Fair point." Bolt nodded.

"Boys." Mystic giggled as she shook her head, which also caused everyone to laugh more, while Rae chased Aaron around.

"Well, I think we just made some good friends." Bolt said, causing AZRE to smile.

"Yeah, and I also think that you guys should be allowed to come here whenever you want." Mystic said causing Ava and Erica to squeal with joy.

"Really?! You're not joking right?!" Ava asked, unable to hold in her excitement.

"Nope, not joking." Bolt responded as Rae pinned Aaron to the ground.

"Say sorry!" She yelled as she pulled him arm upward.

"AH! Ow! I'm sorry!" Aaron cried and Rae let him go.

"Bolt." Rae glared coldly as she walked up to him. "Run."

"Really? Rae, you really think you can catch me-" Bolt cut himself off as he tried to use his semblance, and frowned as nothing happened. "Forgot you can do that. I'm just gonna, run!"

"Get back here!" Rae yelled as she chased the boy.

"So, what were we talking about?" Aaron asked as he rubbed his sore arm.

"We were allowing AZRE to come to your training grounds." Mystic informed and Aaron beamed.

"Oh, we should name the place then." Aaron scratched his head as he thought about it. "How about Amity?"

"That sounds amazing!" Erica agreed, with a nod.

"Of course you would think that." Zeno muttered as he helped Ava stand.

"I don't mind the name." Robyn said as she watched Rae chase Bolt, not being able to stop the smile forming on her face.

"Then it's settled, Aaron's training ground is officially renamed to Amity!" Aaron said and everyone cheered, except for Bolt, who was still getting chased by the green haired ex-princess.

"Wait... It's the Vytal Festival arena called Amity?"

Aaron sighed as he looked to the ground, sad. "Fuck."

* * *

**AMBR has fans. This is Team AZRE and they're second years from Shade Academy. **

**Ava's weapon is called Absalom. Absalom is a sword, that is able to shift into two guns she calls Chaos and Discord.**

**Ava's semblance is called Clone. She can make almost unlimited clones of herself. She uses them to help with fighting combos and as a decoys.**

**Zeno's weapons are called Bat Blade, They're bladed gauntlets which can shoot out blades, as a projectile, and dust.**

**Zeno's semblance is called Solar Heart. His semblance allows the user to shoot energy blast and lasers generated from the sun. When needed, Zeno can create a suit of armor as well as a sword and shield out of energy. He can also use the sun's light as a cloak for himself and allies. He can store energy in his body, by absorbing sunlight, to use at night.**

**Robyn's weapon is called World Chain. It's two single whip swords that she put together to make one. She can swing it around like a normal whip sword but, she can also split them apart and have two separate blades. **

**Robyn's semblance is called Cloak. When active, Robyn is enveloped in mist made of her Aura. The Aura mist has quite a few uses. One of which is that she is able to counter gravity debuffs against her and also use gravity to her advantage. She can hover slightly above ground level and perform consecutive jumps in midair. She can also use this semblance on others.**

**Erica's weapon is called Ironbark. It's a b****attle axe, that is similar to Mystic's, that can turn into a shotgun.**

**Erica's semblance is called Force Shield. She can project semi-spheres of repulsive energy, causing hits to rebound, as if hitting rubber, and bullets to deflect. Most solid or semi-solid projectiles to be deflected, etc. It's generated by projecting from the user's limbs. She can use her semblance to protect others from attacks.**

**Coming up: Surprise Attack**


	5. Surprise Attack

**Setting: Desert**

Team AMBR drove through the sea of desert known as Sanus. Team AZRE lent them their vehicle, before heading back to Vacuo. Promising to bring it back, AMBR set off towards the last base hidden in the desert. Mystic and Rae rode in the vehicle while Bolt and Aaron used their element based semblances to fly and run to their destination. Aaron and Bolt were racing, seeing who could get to the base first. Rae and Mystic were right behind them, the car barely able to keep up. They were both surprised that the vehicle could keep up, the boys were putting most of their energy into the race. They had to push the car to it's limits just to keep up.

Aaron boosted forward, gaining the lead. He turned, looking down at Bolt as he flew. "Eat my dust, slow poke!"

"Whatever, hot head!" Bolt said, increasing his speed.

Aaron flew down lower, flipping over to face Bolt. He stuck his tounge out, not paying attention to what was in from of him. He didn't think anything would be in front of him, being in a desert and all. Bolt couldn't see in front of them either. Everything he tried, Aaron would fly in front of him, just to piss him off. When Aaron did decide to turn back around, he was met with the axehead of a halberd. Aaron was sent flying to the side, causing Bolt to stop in his tracks and Rae to stop the car. Bolt looked over to Aaron, seeing him struggle to stand up. He slowly looked back to the thing before him to see that he was face-to-face with Stone.

Bolt stood frozen as Rae slowly walked over to Aaron. Bolt stared Stone in the eye holes in his mask, staring into his emotionless gray eyes. Bolt didn't know what to do. He wanted to rush in an attack, but Stone was a strong opponent. He and Aaron had already lost to Stone one time, and he didn't want to lost again. While Bolt stood against Stone, slightly scared of what could happen next, Stone stood confidently, ready to fight. That also ticked Bolt off. In all his years as the Beta, he'd never been scared or nervous. Even when sparing with Alpha, and the other Elementals. I never made him scared. Mystic shifted her weapon into it's bow form, aiming it at Stone as Rae reached Aaron.

"Aaron, you okay?" Rae asked, as she helped her leader sit up.

"Yeah, my aura took most of the hit." Aaron growled, glaring at Stone. "Bastard got the jump on me."

"I know, it was actually kind of funny." Aaron shifted his glare at Rae, who returned it. "Anyways, you need to calm down. We need a plan before you can attack."

"I have a plan, attack." Aaron said, getting up and running toward Stone.

Bolt and Stone continued their stare down, not moving an inch. Bolt slowly reached for Vorpal, causing Stone to grip his halberd. Mystic kept her aim on Stone, ready to fire when he moved. She had an ice dust arrow loaded, planning on freezing in whatever position he was in when the arrow hit. She was just as nervous as Bolt was. Anything could happen. Anything like Aaron rushing in, head first.

"Hey, asshat!" Bolt looked over as Aaron ran towards them, body cloaked in flames. "Eat this!"

Aaron jumped toward Stone, the fire around his body moving to his hand, fist clenched. Stone reacted immediately, grabbing Aaron by the throat, surprising the pyro greatly. Stone slammed Aaron on the ground, dealing more damage to his aura, and leaving a dent in the ground. Mystic took this chance and fired her bow as Stone was distracted with Aaron. Stone turned around, blocking the arrow with Aaron's body. He then dropped Aaron, letting his body freeze over.

Bolt rushed in, sword in hand. Bolt ducked under Stone's halberd, slashing at his back side. Stone turned around, unaffected, punching Bolt in the chest. Bolt was barely to block the punch with sword, but he still felt the punch. Stone's punch sent Bolt back a few feet, even though Bolt blocked it. He was shocked with Stone's superior strength. Mystic continued to fire arrows at Stone, which either bounced off or barely did their job. Stone turned, catching Mystic's arrow, only to have it explode in his face.

Stone emerged out of the smoke, perfectly unharmed. Mystic's eyes widened as Stone grabbed one of her arrows off of him and threw it at back at her. She quickly fired a counter arrow, causing the both of them to explode. Rae shifted her escrima sticks into their Mini Uzi form, raining down lightning and fire dust bullets on Stone. Stone raised his arm up to block the bullets, while his armor and aura took the rest. Aaron finally thawed his way out of the thick ice that surrounded him. He now regretted suggesting that Mystic should add more ice dust to her arrows. He unsheathed Toggle, gripping the handle as he looked at Stone protecting himself from Rae's bullets. Aaron reached his hand over his sword's guard, spinning it. As the guard spun, the fire dust moved up out of the guard and toward the blade. Soon, Aaron's sword blade was covered in fire.

Rae kept firing her Mini Uzi's at Stone, stepping closer and closer towards him. Rae's eyes widened as she heard a click, meaning she was out of ammo. She looked up as Stone pulled a trigger on his weapon. The central spear-like tip fired, like a dart. The spear tip connected with Rae, shocking her like a taser. Rae fell to the ground as Aaron came up from behind Stone, flaming sword in both hands. He jumped up into the air, sword over his head. As Aaron swung his blade down, Stone turned. Their weapons clashed, surprising Aaron at how fast Stone's reaction time was. Stone spun his halberd, bring it under Aaron's feet and causing him to trip. Stone kicked Aaron in the stomach, sending him back and making him lose his sword.

Bolt and Rae met up, nodding to each other as Rae shifted her weapon back into sticks. Mystic jumped out of the car, bow in hand. Bolt and Rae stood against Stone, while Mystic walked up behind him, glancing up at the colossal man. Bolt ran at Stone, Rae right behind him while Mystic loaded up a ice dust arrow. Bolt slashed at Stone, missing his face and scrapping his armor. He kept his attack up, slashing at Stone nonstop. Stone blocked most of Bolt's attack's with his halberd, as well as letting the rest hit his armor. Stone put his weapon up to block Bolt's incoming attacks. He was confused when Bolt suddenly stopped, kneeling on the ground.

Rae jumped off of Bolt's back, escrima sticks in hand. She reeled her arm back before whacking Stone across the face. Rae proceed to rapidly attack Stone, causing him to stumble back from every hit. Rae finished her onslaught of attacks by activating the taser on her sticks and connecting them to Stone's chin, delivering an uppercut. Rae stopped, kneeling down like Bolt, which the latter jumped over the former. Bolt landed, prepared to keep the attack going, but was punch by Stone, knocking him back. Rae rolled out of the way in time to dodge a swipe from Stone's halberd, just in time for Mystic to fire her arrows at Stone's back.

The arrows connected with Stone back, slowly freezing it and spreading to his legs. Stone flexed his back, breaking the ice easily. Mystic followed up with a fire dust arrow. The arrow exploded as it made contact with Stone, creating a smoke cloud. Mystic reached behind her, to grab an arrow, only to realize that she had none left. Mystic quickly shifted her bow into it's battleaxe form as she heard Stone run through the smoke and towards her. Mystic swung her battleaxe at Stone, only to have it caught. Mystic's eyes widened in shock as she was thrown across the battlefield, along with her weapon.

Aaron finally stood back up, looking over to Stone. He was heading for Rae, who Aaron knew couldn't handle her alone. He activated his semblance, running to Stone. Before Aaron could land a hit, Stone grabbed him by the leg, slamming him in the ground. Stone slammed Aaron on his other side, breaking his aura. Stone proceed to slam Aaron a couple more times before throwing him away. Bolt watched as Aaron tumbled on the ground, unconscious. He saw his aura break, and was shocked. Aaron had a lot of aura, just like he did. It takes a lot for Bolt and Aaron's aura to deplete, and seeing Stone break Aaron's was a shock to see.

_"Shit, Aaron's down."_ Bolt thought to himself, summoning his lightning blade.

Bolt ran at Stone, jumping over his halberd as it was thrown at him. He rolled on the ground, slashing at Stone's leg. Stone used his other leg to kick Bolt in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Rae ran at Stone, planning on tasing him to his knees, only to get tased herself. Stone's taser broke through Rae's aura, and continued to shock her. Stone grabbed Rae by her throat, throwing her across the battlefield and into a rock. Bolt caught his second wind, looking around to see everyone down and Stone still standing.

Bolt slowly stood up, gripping both swords in his hands as Stone turned towards him. Bolt charged at Stone, who barely flinched. The giant man swung his halberd, which Bolt slid under to dodge. Bolt whipped around, slicing Stone's armor on his back. Stone's armor and aura took the attack, which allowed Stone to whip around and smack Bolt with his halberd. He brought the halberd down onto Bolt, who blocked it with both swords. The impact created a dent in the ground underneath Bolt's feet as Stone forced Bolt down, using his superior strength. Bolt mustered all of his strength to push Stone back before back flipping his halberd away, at the cost of his own sword. It was now down to hand-to-hand.

Stone didn't waste anytime and threw a punch. Bolt dodged the punch and threw one of his own, connecting with Stone's face. Bolt pulled his hand back, grabbing his wrist, holding in a groan. Punching Stone was like punching metal. Stone threw another punch, which Bolt barely blocked. Stone rapidly unleashed punches that Bolt could barely block or dodge. Bolt was able to get punches in, but they just hurt him more than they did Stone. Stone punched Bolt in the stomach, leaving his face open. Stone gave Bolt an uppercut that broke his aura, shocking the boy. Stone finished his attacks with a kick to the chest, knocking Bolt down and out.

**Several Hours Later**

Bolt woke up to Rae hovering over him. Her aura had replenished as she was healing Bolt up. She helped him sit up, allowing him to see Aaron leaning on a rock, facing away from everyone while Mystic sat in the car. Bolt knew Aaron was mad at himself that he was easily overpowered beaten. It rarely happened, and when it did, he always had backup. But that didn't matter this time. Bolt understood how he felt. He was supposed to be an unbeatable weapon, and lost as soon as the fight started. Bolt was pulled out of his thoughts as Rae stood up, handing him his sword.

"Thanks," Bolt said, sheathing his sword, rubbing his sore body.

"Welcome." Rae responded, looking at Bolt's face. She could tell that losing hurt him more than he wanted to admit. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bolt said, walking past her and towards the car. "Let's just go to the base and leave."

"About that," Bolt turned to look at Rae, who had a disappointed look on her face. "There isn't a base in Sanus. Never was one."

"Shit." Bolt cursed, sighing.

"What should we do?"

"Go home. Recover, and learn from this battle." Bolt said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Cause I'm not losing to that guy again."

"Right. Aaron said the same thing." Rae nodded, looking over to Aaron as Bolt walked to the car. "Aaron! Let's go! We're going home."

Aaron didn't respond. He just leaned off the rock and walked towards the car. Everyone hopped in the car, not saying a word. Rae started the car and drove away from the battlefield. Everyone sat in silence as Rae drove them to their airship. They all knew what the other was thinking, especially the girls knew that Bolt and Aaron were thinking the same thing. Their pride was shot, almost like it was ripped away from them.

_"I'm not losing to him again!"_

As Rae drove, their surroundings seemed to be getting higher than normal. Suddenly, they were sinking instead of driving. The sand underneath them started to fall, like it wasn't sand at all. The car eventually fell along with the sand, causing everyone in it to be thrown out. When AMBR were able to see their surroundings, they could see that they were falling. They looked up, seeing the giant hole they fell from. Before they could do anything, they crashed, on what felt like stone.

"Guys?!" Aaron called out as he was able to poke his head out of the sand that fell in with them.

"Here!" Bolt called out, sticking his hand out from under the sand.

"I'm good!" Mystic said, dusting herself off.

"What the hell?" The three looked to Rae as she looked around at their surroundings.

They could see walls, very, very tall walls. Rae guessed that they were half the height of a skyscraper. They had moss and sand on them. There were no windows or doors on any of them, which was confusing. Rae studied the walls up close, before realizing what they were.

"It's a maze."

"What?"

"Giant walls that you can't see over, no windows or doors," Rae listed off, motioning to the walls. "This is some kind of maze, but who would put a maze underneath Sanus?"

The four flinched as they heard a roar echo, making it seem like the owner was all around them.

"I know this place..." Mystic said as she walked down a path, looking around the corner.

"How?"

"I.. I don't know, but if I'm correct," Mystic turned towards the others, fear painted all over her face. "This is the Labyrinth of the Minotauros."

* * *

**Must like Weiss' rapier, Aaron has revolving chamber inside the guard of his sword. He wrapped leather over chamber to hide it so he can surprise his enemies. It is always stacked with Fire dust.**

**Leapfrog is a move that Aaron made for himself and Rae to use together. Rae can use this attack with any team member, but Aaron's always the one near her when she thinks it's best to use it. **

**Coming up: Labyrinth of the Minotauros Part 1 **


	6. Labyrinth of the Minotauros Part 1

**Setting: Labyrinth**

"But it was only an myth. My mother told me stories when I was little, but it was never found." Mystic said, scanning the area. "So when I grew up, I thought it wasn't real."

"After all we've been through, I'd believe anything." Aaron said, arms crossed.

"This is insane. This is like finding a secret golden city!" Rae said, ecstatically. "If you're okay with fighting to the death, just to tell the tale."

"You've been watching to many movies, huh?" Bolt said, shaking his head as he looked towards the car.

"Labyrinth of the Minotauros?" Aaron questioned as they heard another roar, causing them to flinch. "What the hell is a Minotauros?"

"It's a Minotaur based Grimm. It's a beast capable of squeezing a man to death with one hand." Rae said, stunned by the fact that she was even touching the wall. "But I thought this place was a legend. This can't be real. Is anyone seeing any strange things?"

"No?" Aaron said, not exactly sure if a panicked Rae counted as "seeing strange things".

"Well, car's broken." Bolt said, motioning to the car with his head.

"AZRE's gonna be upset."

"Nah, I'm sure they'll be happy that their vehicle got trashed by us." Aaron said as he looked at the car. "Wouldn't hold it against them anyways."

"Guess we should try and find a way out then." Mystic suggested, everyone nodded in agreement.

The four walked throughout the maze, completely lost. None of their Scrolls had signal and they were still sore from their fight with Stone. Rae knew that they should talk about that, but she also knew that the boys wouldn't want to talk about it. They occasionally heard roars of the Minotauros, echoing throughout the maze. None of them new what the Grimm looked like, they just knew that it was real and that they were near it. They heard it breaking walls and roar on the other side of the maze, which was only an echo. Aaron groaned hearing that. The maze was large and long, and the hallways felt even longer.

The team turned the corner, seeing another long hall, which caused Aaron to groan. As they walked down the hall, they saw dead bodies of humans, Faunus', and even other Grimm. There was a low fog as well, which made it really difficult to see what was in front of them. Aaron tripped multiple times as they walked, which Bolt laughed at him each time. The fog was so thick, that even Mystic was having a hard time seeing through it. It was also getting dark in the pathway the further they walked away from the light, which didn't help Aaron's case at all.

"That's it! I'm lighting a fire." Aaron said, raising his hand, igniting a flame in his hand.

"No!" Rae ran over to Aaron, smacking his arm and causing him to drop the fire on the floor.

"What the hell?!" Aaron yelled as the fire slowly dissipated on the ground. "Rae. Why?!"

"Because the Minotauros could see it and we'd be in even more trouble." Rae countered.

"Bullshit! It's just a Grimm. I can handle it." Aaron countered, conjuring more fire and walking forward. He kicked a rock, as he did so. "Ha! You're not getting me this time, rock!"

"You-" Rae held in her words. She almost brought up Stone, and she knew it wasn't fair. None of them were ready for that. Aaron may annoy her from time to time, but he was the brother she always wanted. So she held it in and kept walking.

Bolt pulled out Rosé, just in case Rae was right. He trusted Rae's tactics more than Aaron's strength. Aaron may be the leader in technicality, but Rae was the true leader. The Grimm could come from anywhere, and with Aaron's light, it could see them and attack whenever. Aaron's light worked, to a certain degree. It lit up the hall, but the fog was thicker and still made it harder to see what was in front of them until they actually got there. Aaron peeked over around corner, seeing that the coast was clear. He lead the others down the hallway, only for it to be a dead end. Aaron groaned as he punched the wall.

"I hate this place."

"Should've known this place wouldn't have straight paths." Bolt sighed, shaking his head. "This is a maze, after all."

"Damn, I should've known." Mystic said, which confused the others. "I _was_ using the sounds of the Labyrinth to help us get out, but there's way too many sounds."

"What like echolocation?" Aaron mumbled, sarcastically. "I thought that only bats could do that."

"Actually, whales, dolphins, and a few birds can as well." Mystic informed, earning a glare from Aaron. "But it helps when you're a Faunus, good hearing and all."

"It's okay, Mystic." Bolt reassured, placing his hand on her shoulder, which she shivered at. "We'll find a way out."

"Yeah, it like five years." Aaron muttered, receiving a slap on the head.

"Come on, let's get moving."

The team started back the way they came, Aaron leading them once again. Aaron held the flame in front of him, even though he remembered most of what was on the ground. He was a ways away from the others, angry that he lead them to a dead end. Aaron was so caught up in his annoyance and anger that he tripped over a rock, again. Bolt walked over to him, laughing as he helped him up.

"Shut up." Aaron glared, dusting himself off as Bolt laughed.

"You should've seen your face when you were going down!" Bolt laughed, clenching his stomach as he placed a hand on the wall for support. "You were panicking!"

"I wasn't! Startled maybe, but I was not panicking." Aaron countered, starting an argument between the two.

"Ugh! You two can't stop fighting for one minute." Rae groaned, causing the two boys to look at her.

"He started it!" Aaron blamed, pointing to Bolt.

"No, you started it with that hilarious fall." Bolt laughed.

As the three argued, Mystic's Faunus ears picked up a noise. She couldn't tell what is was, she never heard anything like it before. The sounds overpowered everything, while not being loud. She was confused. Being a Faunus, she had incredible hearing. She's heard almost as many things as she has semblances, but this thing was a complete mystery. Once she did figure it out, it was already to late. She looked up to see red glowing eyes and the glare of a weapon in mid swing.

"Watch out!"

Bolt and Aaron turned around just as they were slammed into the wall by a large slab of iron. Their impact created a hole in the wall, which Bolt and Aaron laid under. Rae and Mystic looked at the cause, seeing the protector of the Labyrinth. The Minotauros. The Grimm was covered in black fur, that you could barely see that it had fur at all. It had blood red, constantly glowing eyes that seemed to follow you as you moved. It had very large muscles and heavily armored bone plating on its head, chest, arms, and legs. It had sharp bone horns on it head, which Mystic remembered was rumored to be able to pierce through steel. The Grimm stood four meters tall, towering over the four. The girls looked at it's arm, which had a giant slab of iron merged in its left arm. It's opened its mouth as it roared, revealing large, sharp teeth.

Before the Grimm could move towards the girls, a fire ball connected with it's face. Aaron climbed out of the rubble and rapidly threw fire balls at the Grimm, maneuvering it's attention to him and give Bolt time to climb out of the rubble. When Bolt did make his way out, he instantly ran towards the Grimm. The large creature swung it's slab of iron, which Bolt ducked under. He ran towards and up the wall, jumping off of it and into the Grimm.

The Grimm was smarter than Bolt expected, grabbing onto him midair while ignoring Aaron. Bolt cried out in pain as the Grimm clenched his fist, crushing him. Aaron jumped up, fire cloaking his fist as he cocked it back, planning on saving Bolt. Before Aaron could even get close enough, he was hit with the Grimm's iron slab, which sent him flying down the hall and into the wall. The Grimm turned as it felt arrows hitting it's back. It simply swung it's iron slab at Rae and Mystic, who jumped over it. However, The Minotauros predicted it and kicked Mystic into the wall behind them and smacked Rae with its fist.

Rae slammed into a wall, but looked up to see the Minotauros picking up Mystic. It turned towards a wall before sprinting into it, breaking it and the others behind it. Rae quickly got up, running toward the wall. Before she could get to it, everything shifted. The wall moved away from Rae and another appeared in front of her, perfectly fine, like it was never broken. Rae cursed as she looked at the other walls to see that they were fixed as well. They were back at square one, and missing team members.

Rae perked up as she remembered Aaron was sent down the hall. She ran down the long hall, carefully so that she didn't trip, and found Aaron at the end. He was using the wall as support as he pulled himself up from the ground. Rae helped him as soon as she reached him, which he thanked her for.

"You okay?" She asked as Aaron leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, just pissed." Aaron answered. "Where's Bolt and Mystic?"

"The Minotauros got them."

"Dammit." Aaron muttered, pushing off the wall and down the next pathway. "Stupid fucking Grimm."

"Where are you going?" Rae asked, turning to face him.

"I'm going to kill that Grimm and find the others." Aaron stated, simply. "You coming?"

"Yeah, give me a sec."

After an hour of walking, Aaron started to feel his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since this morning and forgot to bring snacks. Rae ignored his complaining and kept walking, checking every corner before moving. She hated the fact that they were being played and outsmarted by a Grimm. She was the tactician of the team and she was outsmarted by a Grimm. Their team was outsmarted by a Grimm. Aaron was also as pissed as he was hungry. He got beaten and overpowered, twice, in one day, and both times he wasn't expecting either one. He trained for all that time, for it to not pay off. They both pushed their thoughts out as they heard growling nearby. The two peeked around the corner to see the Minotauros growling at Bolt as he struggled to be free of his binds. They also saw Mystic, who was being hung up by a vine.

Rae turned to Aaron, a plan already planned out. "Alright. So, this is what we're going to do. You're going to distract the Minotauros, pretending to save Bolt while I save Mystic. And then when I do, I will distract the Grimm while you actually save Bolt."

"Alright, let's do it." Aaron said, smiling as he took out his sword.

"Right." Rae took out Nightswift, shifting them into Mini Uzi's. "3...2...1...Go!"

* * *

**Like Rae said, the Minotauros is a Minotaur based Grimm. It, and the Labyrinth, are based off of the legend of the Minotaur. Unlike some Grimm, it is intelligent. It knows it's way through the labyrinth by heart. It is rare for there to be more than one a life time, for when the Minotauros dies, another replaces it. The labyrinth will always have one ****Minotauros and never more. The Labyrinth seems to have a mind of it's own, helping the Minotauros trap people in by moving the walls and changing it's paths. This doesn't happen all the time, but it mostly happens when a wall gets damaged.**

**As said by Rae, the Minotauros is very strong. It can crush a man with it's bare hands with ease, to the point where they don't have any aura left. When the Minotauros roars, it creates a fog that covers a 2 block radius. The Grimm also knows about the maze's moving. It uses that to it's advantage when needed. It also causes the maze to move, by breaking walls.**

**Coming up: ****Labyrinth of the Minotauros Part 2**


	7. Labyrinth of the Minotauros Part 2

Rae and Aaron ran around the corner, with the latter throwing fire balls at the large Grimm. The Grimm turned from Bolt's unconscious body and to Aaron. It swung it's iron slab at Aaron, who dodged it by jumping. The Grimm predicted it, using his actual hand and slamming Aaron into the wall. Aaron used all his strength, slamming the Grimm's arm down and freeing himself. Aaron continued to throw fire balls and lead the Grimm's attention away from Rae. He flew around the small room, only to be slammed in the chest by the Grimm's iron slab.

Aaron caught himself before he hit the wall, flying above another slash from the slab. He dodged the Grimm's punch, spinning around it and throwing fire balls at it. The Grimm used it slab to defend against the attacks as Aaron flew at it. It surprised Aaron by using it's fist and punching Aaron out of the sky and down to the ground. Aaron quickly pulled out his sword, blocking the iron slab and creating a crater below him.

While Aaron distracted the Grimm, Rae ran over to free Mystic. She ran up the wall, jumping off and grabbing onto the rope she was tied to. Rae used the sharpest part of her weapon to cut down the rope. Rae watched Aaron struggle against the Minotauros as she cut the rope, making sure that she was still in the clear. Rae was shocked and surprised at how a Grimm could tie someone in a rope, and at how tough it was to cut. Before Rae could even get halfway, a body was slammed into hers, knocking her into the wall behind them. Rae pushed Aaron off of her, moving them both out of the way of the Grimm's iron slab.

Rae fired ice dust bullets at the Grimm, running around him to completely encased the creature. The Grimm roared as it started to get annoyed. The large creature tried to swung at the green haired girl, but failed as Aaron flew up and punched the Grimm in the face. The Grimm was halfway encased in ice before it suddenly broke out, breaking the ice and causing it to exploded. Aaron was barely able to react as he was slammed through the walls and out of the room. Rae looked back in shock and surprise.

As she went to look back at the Grimm, she was met with a giant hoof. Rae flew through two of the holes in the wall before she tumbled. Rae quickly picked herself up, looking back at the Grimm. The walls were shifting again, and Rae saw it in slow motion. She immediately got up, running at her fastest to get back to the room. Just as she reached her hand out, the wall closed, blocking her path back to her friends. She pounded on the wall in anger and frustration, sliding down it in defeat. Rae perked her head up again. She just remembered that Aaron was knocked out as well. She looked behind her to see Aaron at the end of the holes in the walls, laid out of the ground. Rae quickly ran in, noticing that the walls were closing. She jumped through the holes, just before the wall moved. She did this multiple times, jumping through multiple holes before they closed and moved.

Rae jumped through the last hole, just in time as it shifted and moved. Rae stood up, dusting herself off as she made her way to Aaron. "Hey, get up."

"Ow! Dammit!" Aaron muttered as he realized where he was. "That wasn't a dream?"

"No, afraid not." Rae said, helping the pyro to his feet.

"Where the hell are we this time?" Aaron groaned as he looked around, not seeing the previous room they were in.

"No clue. The walls shifted and moved." Rae explained walking down a path. "We should hurry and find them again, before the Minotauros does anything."

Aaron hurried to follow as Rae walked faster than she normally would. "So, since we're going to be here for a few hours longer, I wanna know. What happened between you and Robyn?"

"Aaron."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, ma'am!"

**Several Hours Later**

Aaron was right. They were there for several more hours. They found the Minotauros' lair, multiple times, but failed to save Bolt and Mystic every time. But all their failed attempts still helped them. The rope Mystic was tied to was slowly becoming easier to cut, to the point of one cut being left to free her. While Aaron fought against the Grimm, he would find chances to burn the vine trapping Bolt to the wall, and also trying to wake him up so he could free himself. All of their failed attempts lead up to this last attempt, the right attempt.

Aaron and Rae ran in, for what they both agreed to be the last. Instead of Rae going for Mystic, Aaron threw a fire ball at the rope she was hanging from, burning it. Aaron flew over and caught Mystic out of the air while Rae ran towards Bolt. She dodged the Minotauros' attacks as she made her way to Bolt. She fired fire dust bullets at the vines, burning them the rest of the way through to free Bolt. Rae ran to Bolt's side, resting him against her. She looked up to see that Aaron was already running out of the lair with Mystic, so she hurried and did the same. It was hard to dodge the Grimm's attacks with Bolt weighting her down, but with the help of Aaron, she made it. They didn't wait to wake the two up, they immediately ran as soon as Rae was in the clear.

As expected, the Minotauros ran after them, roaring as it did so. While running, Aaron and Rae switched, Aaron taking Bolt on his back and Rae carrying Mystic bridal style. The Grimm wildly swung around as it chased them, destroying every wall it encountered. Aaron and Rae didn't look back as they ran. They didn't need to. So they were confused when they didn't hear the sound of destruction or roaring from behind them. Aaron was brave enough to stop and turn, seeing that they were fine.

"Where is it?" Rae asked, walking back to Aaron.

"No clue, and I don't care." Aaron set Bolt down as Rae gently placed Mystic down.

Aaron smacked Bolt's face several times before violently sat up. "What happened?!"

"Oh, you just got schooled by a Grimm." Aaron chuckled, receiving a punch to the arm.

"Hey, you okay?" Rae asked Mystic, who groaned as she sat up.

"I think," She responded, rubbing the back of her head. "Just have a killer headache."

"Yeah, you should have one of those." Rae said, helping the girl to her feet as she pulled out bandages, wrapping them around the Faunus' head. "The Minotauros kicked you into oblivion."

"Okay, now that we're back together, let's get the hell out of here." Aaron said, walking ahead of the group.

"Suddenly, everything started shifting. The group looked around to see the walls swapping places and the floor moving. The floor was keeping them away from each other. Bolt saw that Mystic was being dragged away from everyone, causing him to act quickly. Bolt ran and jumped across the moving floor, not letting them get in his way to Mystic. Bolt jumped off the wall, landing in front of Mystic. He turned back, seeing Rae and Aaron on their way over. unconsciously, Bolt grabbed into Mystic's hand and lead her back to the others. Bolt and Aaron were almost at each other, until a gap opened up in between them. Both boys nodded to each other as they both backed up and went to jump the gap.

Just as they were about to touch hands, a wall appeared in front of them, which they both collided into. "I could've told you that was a bad idea."

"Yeah, I know." Bolt said, rubbing his face with embarrassment. "I was in the moment."

"What are we going to do?" Mystic asked as Bolt turned to her.

"We gotta hurry and find the others, and maybe just fly upward and break out." Bolt suggested, Mystic nodded in agreement. "Alright, come on!"

It was now Bolt and Mystic's turn to wonder the labyrinth, together. Surprisingly, Bolt and Mystic still had their weapons, and they had them out, ready to fight. Mystic heard multiple sounds as they walked throughout the maze. She couldn't tell what most of them were. They were a mixture of multiple sounds, but they all ended up sounding the same. Like whispering. Bolt didn't seem to notice, probably because he wasn't a Faunus. Luckily, he also didn't notice her freaking out by the sounds. She did feel better than she was with Bolt, but was still in a panic that the Minotauros was looking for them and that they were separated from Aaron and Rae.

Bolt ignored the sounds the maze was making. He was focusing on when the Minotauros was going to come back. He was ready to fight this time. He wouldn't be surprised by a Grimm, again. He peeked around the corner of the hall, aiming his guns down before fully exposing himself. Mystic also had her bow out, watching their backs while also watching their front. This was making her paranoid. She flinched as she heard a wall fall down near them. Bolt turned around as well, not seeing a fallen wall near them.

Bolt whipped around, blocking a giant iron slab. Bolt used all his strength to parry the slab off to the side. Bolt and the Minotauros were now face-to-face, glaring at each other. Mystic aimed her bow at the creature, ready to fire. "Your call, Bolt."

What happened next surprised Mystic greatly. Bolt punched the wall next to them, breaking a brick. Mystic had no clue what he was thinking, but knew that the walls and floor were shifting again. Mystic stuck close to Bolt, not wanting to be separated from him. But what Mystic didn't expect was to be suddenly pushed forward. She turned back to Bolt to see that he push her. She was shocked and confused at what Bolt was trying to do. Before she was able to get back, a wall was placed in front of her, blocking her off from Bolt and the Minotauros.

Mystic cursed under her breath as she banged on the wall. She tried calling out to Bolt, mentally and physically, with no response. She turned and sprinted down the hall, in search of either a way to get to Bolt or find Aaron and Rae.

On the other side of the wall, Bolt stood against the Minotauros. He gripped his sword as he glared at the intimidating creature. The Grimm attacked, causing Bolt to use his semblance to dodge. Bolt ran on the opposite side of the Grimm, using the momentum to jump toward the Grimm. The Grimm whipped around, swinging it's iron slab. Bolt dodged the attack, barely managing to duck under the giant slab. Bolt tumbled on the ground before quickly recovering, using his semblance to run towards the wall. Bolt ran across the wall, jumping off of it and punching the large Grimm in it's face. The Grimm, barely fazed by the attack, return Bolt's punch. The punch sent Bolt flying down the corridor.

Bolt caught himself on the maze ground, glaring back up at the Grimm, eye sparking red. "It's just you and me. No need to hold back."

Bolt charged the Grimm, ready to finally kill this thing.

Meanwhile, Mystic was running around the maze. She needed to get back to Bolt, she just could find her way around the maze. She ran into multiple dead ends, multiple times. Mystic didn't know how long she had been running around for. All she knew what that with every dead end she ran into, she lost more and more of her sanity. Every wall she ran by looked the same, every corner looked the same. Hell, even the pebbles looked the same. Mystic was currently curled into a ball in front of another dead end. She did this with the last two. It wasn't her giving up, it was her taking a break. A mental break. She took a deep breath before standing back up and running down the other way.

Mystic turned the corner, ready to start her search once again. She stopped as she saw a light coming down from above, on the other side of the maze. With her Faunus ears, she heard people yelling. She knew exactly who those people were. Mystic followed the light and the yelling turning down paths that he swore weren't there before. Mystic cheered as she turned the corner. She saw Aaron, throwing fire balls as the roof while Rae yelled at him. He turned back, ready to counter.

"I know what I'm doing! I haven't killed us yet, righ- Mystic?" Aaron said, looking over Rae and at Mystic.

"What? Mystic!" Rae turned and ran over to the Faunus girl, hugging her. "I'm so happy you're safe!"

"Yeah, me too, but where's Bolt?" Aaron asked, causing Mystic's face to drop.

"I... I don't-"

"I'm right here." The voice caused the three to look behind Mystic, and for Mystic to turn around, to see Bolt walking up to them. "Sorry about earlier, Mystic."

"I-It's fine." Mystic could tell that something was wrong with Bolt. He was walking a little strangely, like he was hurt.

"Wait, what about the Minotauros?" Aaron asked before Mystic could say anything.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just leave."

"Okay," Aaron turned and threw the last fire ball needed to blow a hole in the roof.

Aaron used his semblance to fly up and through the hole while Mystic created an invisible platform for herself, Rae, and Bolt. She flew them up and out of the maze, landing safely on the ground. Aaron immediately flew back down to the ground, kissing it.

"Oh normal ground, how I've missed you!" Aaron said as he kissed the ground before spitting the sand out of his mouth.

"We're never coming back here...Ever again." Rae muttered, aloud. "Unless the world ends."

"Well, at least we're finally out of there." Mystic said, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah... but we have to walk back to the airship." Everyone's eyes widened as they realized that they would have to walk back.

"Dammit!"

* * *

**Coming up: Vortex**


	8. Vortex

**Setting: Agradia**

It took most of the whole day, but Team AMBR finally made it home. The four went to the Kingdom of Vacuo first, telling and apologizing to them about their car. They were forgiven pretty easily, leaving them on good terms as they left. As the team walked throughout the castle, they split off. Rae and Mystic went towards their shared room, tired from the past events. Bolt watched Aaron silently walk away towards the training area. He understood why Aaron walked off, he'd do the same thing if he didn't have questions to ask. Bolt waved to the girls before heading towards Sierra's lab.

Bolt had so many questions, especially about Night Raid... Vortex... Whatever the hell it was called. He tried to gather his thoughts so he wouldn't end up yelling or getting angry with Sierra. Even though there was a chance that she lied to him, he didn't blame her at all. He just wanted to know why. As Bolt made his way throughout the castle, two citizens ran up to him, shouting his name. One was a red head while the other had was a brunette.

"Prince Bolt! Prince Bolt!" Bolt turned towards the two women as they stopped in front of him.

"Uh...hi?"

"We just wanted to say that we appreciate and admire what you do!" One said, ecstatically.

"But I-"

"Can you say the thing?!" The other asked, interrupting him.

"What thing?" Bolt asked, confused at what specific words he's said that's become famous.

"You know? "Let's test that"." She responded.

"Or "I'm Bolt Rai, you'll know me soon enough"!" The other offered.

_"I've said that? When have I said that?" _Bolt thought to himself. "Uh, look. I don't have time right now. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. We're just happy to speak to you face-to-face." The brunette said, the other nodding in response.

"Right. Bye." Before Bolt could walk off, the red haired girl kissed him on the cheek before dragging the other one away.

"See you Prince Bolt!" She said, quickly as they turned the corner.

"Don't call me that... What just happened?" Bolt sighed, pressing his hand to his cheek in confusion. "I really hate being a prince."

**Setting: Sierra's Lab**

Bolt shook the event out of his head, continuing to Sierra's lab. He got there pretty quickly, but stopped at the door. It was like his body just stopped and wouldn't move. Bolt willed himself forward, opening the door. He picked in, seeing the scientist at work. Bolt silently closed the door, which really wasn't needed as Sierra was melding metals together, creating new metals. Bolt knew that she did this every week, making sure she was always prepared to fix his weapons, mostly his sword. Bolt smiled as he saw that Sierra was still the same scientist and inventor that she always was.

Bolt looked around at the lab as he made his way through it. He walked past loads of scattered tools and parts for weapons, Sierra had a lot of ideas she barely has time to actually do. Bolt picked up star-shaped a component, that he remembered Sierra using when she was making his pistols. He continued walking through the maze of a lab, tripping over a sword handle. Bolt peeked over some boxes to see Sierra, still melding the metals. Before Bolt could walk over to the woman, he spotted a familiar computer. It was an old computer model, that not that many people had nowadays in Remnant. It was a signature thing for Night Raid - Vortex. They had old models, that were upgraded, to keep most people from hacking them.

Bolt slowly approached the computer, seeing what displayed on the screen. It had multiple things, such as a 3D diagram of a blood sample, three separate DNA strands, other genetics labeled after the skills he'd learn, and a video put on pause. Bolt looked at the blood sample first. He recognized the sample of blood as his own. He knew this from Sierra taking blood samples from him in the past. He had gotten used to seeing his blood recorded and knew it by memory.

Bolt moved away from the blood sample and onto the DNA strands. One he guessed was his, since it was Sierra's computer. The other two were a complete mystery to him. For the second, the only guesses he had was Autumn, since they're twins. The third confused him the most, he had no clue who's it could be. He didn't think about it for to long, moving on to the video

Bolt looked at the paused video, scared to press play. His finger hovered over the the button as he stared at what it was paused on. Suddenly the video played. Bolt eyes widened as it played. The screen displayed a very young Bolt, sitting on a metal table. There was a stray light bulb next to him as he looked up at the camera with beady eyes.

The camera shook as baby Bolt reached for it, telling teenage Bolt that Sierra was holding it.

_"Okay... Beta Semblance test number one: Energy Generation."_ Sierra's voice played out as she set a timer next to Baby Bolt, who was trying to eat his own hand. _"Sub test: Semblance reaction speed."_

_"Hey, Beta." _Baby Bolt looked back up at camera, smiling as he was teething on his hand. _"Do you see that next to you?"_

The baby following Sierra's finger, looking to the light bulb before grabbing onto it. _"Okay. Can you turn it on for me?"_

The baby put his mouth on the light bulb, trying to eat it, with no success. After a couple of seconds, the light bulb glowed with a dim white light. Sierra chuckled as she stopped the clock.

_"3.2 seconds, .2 seconds faster than Gamma's reaction time. Almost on par with Alpha. Moving onto Weather reaction test in-"_

Sierra's voice cut out as Baby Bolt dropped the light bulb, causing it to roll off the table and break. The baby's lip quivered as he was about to cry. Before he could, she reached out to him, tickling baby Bolt's belly and causing him to laugh. _"Perfect."_

Bolt smiled as he turned the computer off. "You know, that was the first time I was happy when I worked for Coldwell."

Bolt turned to see Sierra behind him, with a small smile on her face. "What? You didn't like working with him?"

"No. He was way too competitive to be a proper coworker. Or even a friend." She admitted, sadly. "He did bring the best out of my work, though. I'll give him that."

"Yeah." Bolt chuckled. "Guess he and Alpha did share one thing."

"If you don't mind me asking, what're doing here?" Sierra asked. "You usually never visit me unless you needed your weapons fixed."

"Yeah, well," Bolt rubbed the back of his head, breaking eye contact with Sierra. "We need to talk about Vortex."

"H-How do you know about that?" Sierra asked, eyes widened in shock.

"It was on the file. I think I was the only one who could see it, though." Bolt shrugged.

"This...This isn't how I wanted you to find out." She said as she took a seat, head in her hands.

"How did you want me to find out?" Bolt asked, taking a seat next to the woman.

"I wanted to tell you, but..." Bolt rested a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"You still can. Trust me, I'm not mad. I just wanna know why I was really trained to kill people."

"Okay. I can do that." Sierra nodded, looking up up Bolt. "As you know now, Night Raid was a cover up name, for Vortex. It was to rid suspicion on the program."

"I mean Night Raid still sounds suspicious." Bolt said, trying not to sound angry. "What about the Maidens? Was that a cover up?"

"Yes and no." Sierra responded, confusing Bolt. "At first, it was just cover up. Coldwell had read about the Maidens and instantly feared them, but he didn't believe that were real, so he used it to cover up what he really had us doing. That was until Coldwell had a run in with a Maiden, that's when it was added to the plan."

"He had a run in with one?"

"Yes. I don't know what happened exactly, but I know it was bad enough for him to add it onto the plan."

"If fighting rouge Maidens wasn't the original plan, then what was?" Bolt asked.

"Taking over the world." Sierra said, simply. "Vortex was created to take over the world. Coldwell was wronged in some way in his past, and it lead him to world domination."

"That... makes sense." Sierra looked to Bolt as he thought about it. "Coldwell wanted Alpha to be exactly like him. Alpha also wanted to take over the world, but he took it a step further and actually did it."

"Alpha was a good kid. Always listened, was a good leader to his peers. Until Coldwell "upgraded" him." Sierra added.

"Yeah, I would know." Bolt shook his head, taking a deep breath. "Anyway, what else did Coldwell plan?"

"Right, um, Coldwell had us create you, and the others, carry out his plan. He wanted weapons that only he could control, so he had us disrupt the cycle of the fabled Elementals to create our own. The Elementals he wanted would protect humanity from threats that not even a Kingdom's military could."

"Salem."

"Yes, and things possibly more powerful. But he would also use you as a way to climb up the leaderboards until he was on top, until people begged for his help." Sierra continued. "Instead of letting the next generation be chosen by the cycle, he wanted us to make the next. Robots and androids that would be better than the first Elementals, and would be rebuilt to be better than. That was before he scrapped that idea and just had us make unkillable Elementals."

"But, why couldn't you just out Coldwell and take over? With you as lead scientist, Night Ra-Vortex wouldn't be what it is now."

"I-" Sierra stopped, catching Bolt off guard. "You... You were five years old when you truly became the Beta, and you were almost ten when he went on your first mission. You were better at killing than an adult huntsmen at five years old."

Bolt didn't respond verbally, nodding his head slowly. "I could barely handle knowing that I was taking your childhood, so when I did figure out Coldwell's true plans, I told your sister and we got you out of there. Autumn took us to Summer and Tai's home in Patch, and they agreed to take care of you while Autumn and I took out other Vortex bases."

"But, I remember you telling me to leave the facility and find a new purpose." Bolt said, confused at Sierra's words.

"Those were implanted memories," Sierra admitted, sadly. "But, I meant what I said."

"I understand." Bolt said, nodding. "Wait. Then why didn't we have a Delta? It was something that I always had on my mind. It felt like there was a hole in the Pack without one."

"That's simple. One of our experiments failed, and the essence of the Fire Elemental escaped. I didn't know were it went to back then, but now I do."

"Right, Aaron's technically the Delta." Bolt nodded.

"Correct." Sierra paused as she sighed. "I was actually happy to hear that the Fire Element escaped us. It meant that there was hope that Coldwell would be stopped."

"I thought that you didn't know about his plan until later." Bolt said, confused.

"I didn't. Coldwell somehow managed to carry out his taking over the world plan without us knowing. I'm telling you what I had gathered from learning the truth." Bolt nodded, staying silent. "The meaning behind "Night Raid" was dealing with rouge Maidens."

"What do you mean by "the meaning behind "Night Raid"?" Bolt asked, slightly confused at the statement.

"I gave them meanings so I could tell them apart." Sierra responded.

"Oh, then what does Vortex mean?"

"Destroy," Bolt eyebrows raised at the word. "And rebuild."

At Bolt's silence, Sierra continued. "Coldwell wanted to destroy Remnant, and then rebuild it in his twisted image. That's how he wanted to play god, more than he already was, until he found out about the God of Light and the God of Darkness. He read about the rumors and tales of them, and instantly hated them. That's when Coldwell decided to upgrade Alpha even more, to what he was a few days ago, a monster."

"Yeah."

"That was also near the time I found out what was going on, and when Alpha went rouge." Sierra said as she thought back. "I could hear Alpha violently kill the others, and knew he was coming for me anytime soon. So, Autumn and I got you out, but not before I... upgraded you too."

"Upgraded? Wha-What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that since I upgraded you to be able to defeat the Alpha, and that the Alpha was upgraded to be able to kill a god..."

"I can also kill a god..." Bolt sat in his chair, shocked.

"Theoretically, yes." Sierra corrected. "But, you might not be alone with that. The Element of Fire

"Aaron? Aaron doesn't have the same "upgrades" as me and the Alpha."

"Yes, after we tampered with his Element." Sierra said, clearing her throat. "His Element may have completed it's cycle, but we still tampered with it. It's still man made in a way."

"Okay, that's fair." Bolt nodded, slowly. "So, after you and Autumn escaped-"

"You should know the rest, Autumn gave you to Summer Rose and we went into hiding, eventually founding Agradia, while also taking down any other Vortex bases I knew of." Sierra finished.

"Yeah, and I grew up with Summer and Tai, and gain two sisters. Ruby and Yang. Trained with Qrow. Missed Raven-" Bolt pulled out his Scroll as he felt it vibrate. "I gotta go, Rae wants to talk with me."

"Okay," Sierra nodded as she stood. "Thank you for not being upset about Vortex, upset with me."

"I told you I wasn't mad. It's not your fault anyways, it's Coldwell's." Bolt said as he went to walk out before stopping. "Before I go,"

"Yes?"

"What was with the crown?" Bolt asked, Sierra tilting her head in confusion.

"What crown?"

"You know, the crown with all the main elements surrounding it?" Sierra shook her head, shrugging.

"I have no idea of what you're talking about."

"Okay. Thanks, Doc." Bolt shrugged, leaving the lab and walked over to wherever Rae was.

* * *

**On the way back, Mystic created a few more team attacks. She decided to make some more since Future Cinder would most likely know the others, like Aaron said. Mystic labeled these new team attacks as Alternative Team Attacks, while the others are Main Team Attacks. The team attacks written down were; ****Zeus' Lightning Bolt, Electrified Dragon, Ultra Flame Blade, and Sunsteel Strike.**

**Zeus' Lightning Bolt: Even though Bolt and Aaron have used this team attack before, Mystic knows how much the two boys love Absolute Carnage, so she dubbed Zeus' Lightning Bolt as an a****lternative. **

**Electrified Dragon: This team attack is preformed by Mystic and Bolt. Mystic uses one of her Semblances to make a dragon out of water Dust and throws it at the target. Bolt then uses his Semblance to run and catch up with the dragon before he jumps into it. Bolt then electrifies the dragon as it hits the target.**

**Ultra Flame Blade: This team attack is preformed by Aaron and Rae. Aaron pulls out his sword, signalling Rae. She rolls her eyes as Aaron uses his semblance to light up his sword blade. Rae uses the air Dust in her guns to power the flames, making Aaron's sword into a giant flame blade. Aaron uses his sword to ****slash at the target(s) and sends large flaming slashes at them.**

**Sunsteel Strike: Sunsteel Strike is preformed by Bolt and Aaron. Bolt grabs onto Aaron and uses his strength and Semblance to spin him around. Bolt then throws Aaron at the target(s) as Aaron uses his semblance to engulf himself in fire, turning into a giant fire ball. Bolt can also just throw Aaron in the air and let him crash down on the target. This is their second favorite team attack with Absolute Carnage being number one.**

**Coming up: Rae the Therapist**


	9. Rae the Therapist

**Setting: AMBR's Shared Room**

Rae and Mystic were sat in their shared section of their room. Mystic was assumed to be asleep, but Rae knew better. She had ever since Mystic split off from the group when they got home. She also knew that Mystic wasn't asleep, she was everything but. Rae knew a thing or two about fake sleeping. So, when she stepped out of her bed, she wasn't surprised to see Mystic's ears twitch at the sound of her foot touching the marble floor. Rae acted like she didn't see it, slowly walking towards her drawer. Rae opened the top drawer, grabbing her scroll from the top of her neatly folded clothes. She smiled as she read a text from Robyn. She smiled even wider as she responded, closing the drawer and walking back to her bed.

Rae placed the scroll on her bed as she finished her response to Robyn, sitting down to face Mystic's bed. She sighed as she thought of what to say. She some what knew what to say to Bolt and Aaron, only because she knew they were both mad. But Mystic was different. She doesn't get mad as easily as a strike to her pride.

"Hey, Mystic." Rae called out to no response. "I know you're not asleep."

Mystic sat up with a groan, turning to face Rae. "Okay, you got me. What's up?"

"I should be asking you that." Rae responded, causing Mystic's head to tilt in confusion. "You've been acting different since we survived Stone and the Minotauros."

"You noticed that?" Rae nodded, causing Mystic to sigh. "You don't have to worry anymore, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because I know what happened got to you just as much as it got to me." Rae responded. "You can talk to me, Mystic."

"I know! I just... I just wanted to be strong for once." Mystic placing her head in hands. "I was so scared! I... We could've died."

"I know, but you don't have to be strong for us. We love you as you are." Rae said, standing up to walk over to the Faunus. She took Mystic's hands into her own, forcing her to look at Rae. "You don't have to prove yourself to us. You're perfect, exactly the way you are. Don't let us, or anything we come across, mess that up, okay? Besides, it's the boys job to "protect their pride"."

Mystic chuckled as she wiped a tear. "Yeah, yeah. I understand. Thanks, Rae."

"No problem." Rae smiled as she stood back up.

"You're really good at that." Mystic spoke, causing the green haired ex-heiress to turn and look at her.

"At what?"

"Raising spirits." Mystic responded with a smile.

"Yeah, well hopefully it doesn't became a habit." Rae said, flopping down on her bed. "Cause I won't be able to do that every time."

"I don't know, you seem pretty good at it. Almost like a moth-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Rae interrupted, causing Mystic to laugh. "You'd better get to bed, it's gonna be a while before I came back."

"Why?" Mystic asked as Rae grabbed her scroll and headed towards the door.

"Because," Rae sighed as she opened the door. "Now, I have to talk to Aaron."

**Setting: Training Area**

Rae walked through the doors of Agradia's training area. The training room also served as a second armory, so she saw loads of armor and weapons as she walked towards the gym section of the room. She'd thought that people would be here, but it was empty, expect for a certain pyro. Rae walked up to the railing in front of her, leaning against it as she watched Aaron yell and punch the punching bag. He had his shirt and cape off as he punched the bag with all his might. She could tell that he'd been at this for a while. His body was covered in sweat and she could see the moments when he started to get tired and slow down before he got angry again as he willed himself back to full stamina.

"That bastard Stone!" Aaron said in between punches. "Stupid fucking Grimm!"

Aaron's final punch sent the punching bag flying, landing right next to the five others as all the grains and sand poured out of it. Aaron growled as he picked up another punching bag to set up. Rae sighed as she walked down the stairs and into the gym section.

"You know, if you keep doing that, we're gonna have to pay for them." Rae said, causing Aaron to rolled his eyes and grab his shirt.

"The hell do you want, Rae?" Aaron asked, turning towards the greened haired girl as he put his shirt on. "I'm not in the mood for jokes."

"Yeah, I can see that." Rae said, taking a seat on a bench. "Look, I'm not going to ease my way into it."

"The hell are you talking-"

"You're hurt." Rae said before Aaron could finish.

"What? I'm fine, my aura-"

"I meant emotionally." Rae said, arms crossed. "I know that getting ambushed by Stone, _and_ getting outsmarted by a Grimm hurt you emotionally. Specifically your pride."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." Aaron said, which Rae knew was a lie. "I'm just training."

"Yeah? While yelling "Stupid Fucking Grimm" and "Bastard Stone"?" Rae questioned.

"Yeah!" Aaron responded. "Why do you care anyways?"

"Because friends care when their friends are hurting." Rae said, causing Aaron to roll his eyes. "Like when Mystic "went to bed" early."

"When did you start being all "friendship is magic"?" Aaron asked, putting up his own air quotes.

"Maybe because I know a thing or two about hiding your real feelings!" Rae yelled, standing up. "Because I know exactly what all three of you are doing! I've been down those roads hundreds of times."

Aaron waved Rae off as he went to leave, only for Rae to continue. "Walking away from others to go cry in your bedroom, hoping it'll blow over. Taking your anger and frustration out on everything until you feel satisfied. Going to find answers in anyway you can, just so you feel like you know something that's right. Guess which one you're doing."

"Dammit, Rae! What do you want from me?!" Aaron yelled as he was getting irritated.

"To talk to me, Aaron!" Rae yelled back. "I already talked to Mystic, and if you're smart enough, it's obvious I'm talking to Bolt next. So, just talk to me."

"I'm not gonna talk to you because I need to talk. I'm fine!" Aaron yelled, grabbing a towel and his cape before walking away.

"Dammit, Aaron!" Rae was starting to get angry now. She knew this was going to be difficult, but Aaron was just acting like a kid now. "What?! You feel that you shouldn't need to talk about you're feelings because you're "pride" won't allow it?"

"Don't start with that!"

"Then why?" Rae asked, again. "You know, we aren't so different. Am I right?"

"I guess."

"I ran away from my responsibilities because I... Because I didn't want them. Not just because of how my parents abused their power." Aaron turned towards Rae. She hadn't willingly shared her past before, and he was shocked. "My mother and father abused their power of King and Queen, and taught my brother and sister to be exactly like them. I didn't want that life, so one night I ran away. I faked that I was sleeping, stole my weapons from the armory, and then I ran away. That lead me to Beacon were be all met, and obviously, now we're here."

"Woah... I didn't-"

"Yeah, you're weren't supposed to know." Rae interrupted sadly as she reflected on her past. She shook her head as she fixed her composure. "See? Not that hard. So, please, just talk to me. I promise I won't say anything."

Aaron sighed as he looked at Rae. He felt bad about having Rae reveal herself like that, just to get him to talk. He didn't know why she was suddenly so passionate about this, but he felt like he had to know.

"Okay, fine. Let's talk." Aaron said as he took a seat next on the bench. "Yeah, you got me."

Rae took a seat next to him, waiting for him to continue. They sat there for a couple of seconds, staring at the burnt and empty punching bags. It was a comfortable silence, for as long as it was going to last. Rae knew that this silence was. It was Aaron thinking about what he wanted to say, and if he should. She looked over to Aaron as he sighed.

"I'm pissed because I lost to Stone. That I didn't have a change against the Minotauros. I hate the fact that I was useless against them both." Aaron confessed, arms crossed.

"Don't say that. You're not useless." Rae said, causing Aaron to look at her. "None of us are useless. Just because you couldn't beat it alone doesn't mean you're useless. It means that we weren't prepared. _We._ We're in this together, Aaron. All of us. We all have roles. You're our muscle, and out leader, but that doesn't mean you always have to win."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just... I rarely lose." Aaron said, eyes glued to the floor.

"I know." Rae placed her hand on Aaron shoulder. "We all lose sometimes, but that's a good thing. Because we can learn from that mistake and be better to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Maybe, just maybe." Aaron said as he stood up, walking over towards the punching bags.

"You going to bed?" Rae asked as she stood up, slowly heading towards the stairs.

"Nah, Imma stay here for a bit. Just to think." He responded, picking up the bags off the floor. "And clean up."

"Don't stay up to long." Rae said as she left, Aaron waving her off.

Rae exited the training room, taking out her Scroll, opening up her messages with Bolt. "Two down, one to go."

**Setting: Balcony**

Rae leaned on the railing of the balcony near AMBR's shared room. She looked up at the animals swimming past the secret kingdom, hidden under the ocean. It was easy to forget that they lived in a hidden, undersea kingdom. She saw loads of creatures. Fish, dolphins, whales, sharks, and even some Grimm. As she waited, she thought of all the ways that the barrier surrounding the kingdom was impossible in every way possible. She turned as she heard footsteps behind her.

"You wanted to talk?" Bolt said as he entered the balcony.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you if-"

"If I was mentally okay from our fights with Stone and the Minotauros?" Rae's eyes brows raised as Bolt cut her off. "Aaron told me."

"Right, I guessed he would." Rae said with a smile. "So, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll get over it." Bolt said, which surprised Rae greatly. "Calm down. I'll be fine, and so will Aaron."

"Oh? Is that a promise?"

"Sure, if you want it to be. Even though he didn't say it, I know he would agree." Bolt said, simply. "That's never happening again."

"It'd better not," Rae said, arms crossed. "Because I was stressed about talking to you about this. I already went through hell talking with Aaron, I didn't want you to be the same."

"It's whatever. It's just another experience to learn from." Bolt said with a shrug. "Besides, I've learned a lot today. I can't be angry anymore."

"Oh? What did-" Rae cut herself off as her Scroll vibrated. Her eyes widened as she read what was on the screen. "No way."

"What happened?" Bolt asked walking over to the green haired tactician.

"Another base popped up!" Rae said showing Bolt the screen. "It has the same number as the one that blew up in Mistral, but it's in a different location. A completely different location."

"That's strange. Should we investigate?" Bolt asked as his head tilted to the side.

"I think so," Rae said, tapping on her Scroll. "I can't exit the file."

"Okay. We'll go tomorrow." Bolt said, Rae nodding in response.

"We should read the rest of Cinder's life too. All of us." Rae suggested.

"You're right. We'll talk about it on the airship." Bolt said as he yawned. "Well, I'll get Aaron in bed. Good Night."

"Don't stay up all night!" Rae called out, Bolt waving her off.

"I won't! Promise!"

* * *

**As you can see, Rae is the mom of the team. Even though she may not admit it, she's the one who makes sure everyone's emotionally okay, as well as physically. That's why there really isn't a "leader" of team AMBR, even though it's technically Aaron by RWBY canon.**

**There is an invisible barrier surrounding Agradia. It makes the kingdom invisible to any outside source. Even radars can't pick up the signal of Agradia. It also disrupts signals from outside. For example, if someone places a tracker on Bolt, as soon as he renters Agradia, it'll shut down.**

**Coming up: Memories **


	10. Memories

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters associated with the RWBY series. All rights belong to Rooster Teeth.  
**

* * *

**Setting: Airship**

Team AMBR were aboard their airship, putting their items in their rooms. Bolt placed his sword on the table in his room, along with his twin pistols. He took off his hoodie, revealing his black shirt underneath. As he laid his hoodie on the small bed in the room, he reached in the pocket for the bandages inside. Bolt slowly sat down as he started taking off his shirt. He looked down, seeing his blood stained bandages. After fighting the Minotauros, his wounds reopened, causing his bandages to be soaked in blood, his aura not having time to fix it. He kept it quiet on the way back home. He didn't want anyone to worry about him. He sighed and groaned as he took them off, looking at his scar in the mirror in front of him. Bolt lightly trailed the scar up his body, all the memories of that day coming back. He shook his head as he finished changing the bandage, standing back up to put his shirt on, leaving his hoodie on the bed. Once Bolt finished, he walked out, making his way to the common area.

Aaron yawned as he threw his weapons on his bed. Even though it was mid-way into the evening, he was tired. After talking with Rae, he stayed up a little longer than he meant to. He thought about what Rae said, still feeling bad about bringing that out of her. He cleaned the training area, thinking about it even as Bolt walked in to tell him to go to bed. Aaron was lost in his thoughts for two hours before he finally got up and went to bed. Even when he got to bed, he laid there for another hour before letting sleep take over. Aaron hung up his cape, as well as taking off his uniform top before making his way out of his room.

Mystic wasn't in her room at all. She was in the kitchen, making food for herself. She forgot to eat when they came home from the Labyrinth. She made a simple sandwich, a tuna sandwich. As she ate the sandwich, she thought about Bolt and how he was walking weird yesterday. She even thought she smelt blood as well. She worries about all of her teammates, but she worries about Bolt the most. She didn't know why. She thought it was because she knew how bad most of his past was, but then she also knew how bad Rae's was. She guessed that her crush on Bolt was more than a crush. Mystic blushed as she clumsily threw away her empty plate, quickly leaving the kitchen and towards the common area.

Rae walked out of her room first. She had already put her gear up, and didn't think she needed to stay in her room any longer. She opened a door, walking over into the common area and placing her Scroll on the table in the middle of the room. The holo-screen popped up, displaying the files from Haven. Before she touched the files, she searched up the location from her Scroll, seeing unfamiliar locations. She didn't recognize any of what she was seeing. Most of what she saw a simple village, with a bar, almost hidden in snow. Rae turned around as she heard Bolt come up.

"Hey, any luck figuring out where the beacon is?" He asked, walking up to the table.

"Not really." She responded, motioning up to the displays. "The only thing near that area is this village, but it's clearly abandoned and covered in snow. I don't even know where this is."

"Does Cinder's file have where she used to live?" Bolt asked, arms crossed, allowing his scars to be seen.

Rae searched through the files, typing away on the holo-keyboard. Eventually, she found something. She displayed the photos attached to the file, showing the same village. "Guess it does. Why?"

"Well, it's the same place. Just before the winter, I guess." Bolt said as his head tilted.

"Yo!" Aaron called out as he walked into the room. "What's going on?"

"We're trying to figure out where the beacon is at." Bolt said, motioning towards the photos.

"Oh." Aaron walked up closer to the photos, squinting at them. "That's looks like the northern part of Mistral."

"How do you know that?" Rae asked, turned towards the pyro.

"Don't know, I just do." Aaron shrugged in response. "You've never been to the northern part?"

"Obviously not." Bolt said, with an eye roll. "I thought you've never been to Mistral?"

"Yeah, not the city."

"So you know where this is exactly?" Rae asked, Aaron nodding in response. "Okay. Go set the auto-pilot."

Aaron walked off as Mystic walked in. She looked at the display, seeing everything that was shown. "Where are we going?"

"We might've found out where Cinder's childhood home is." Bolt answered, Mystic's eyebrows raising in interest.

"Oh! That's great!" Mystic cheered. "Are we going now?"

"Yeah, but we need to talk about her first." Rae said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Mystic questioned before remembering Rae's words. "Do you mean her file?"

"That's right." Rae as Bolt took a seat in a nearby chair. "We'll wait for Aaron, and then we'll read the file."

"Read the file," Aaron said as he walked in, leaning against the wall. "I'm here."

"Okay, so, to summarize what me and Bolt found out when we infiltrated Haven before getting interrupted," Rae started, turning to face her three teammates. "During one of Cinder's birthdays, she proved herself to father after he took her hunting. When she showed she could actually hunt, better than her father, which led her to become very good with a bow. Cinder got so good with a bow, that she defeated a Ursa Major, all on her own. Soon, she became to talk of the town, while her father soaked up her glory. There were even talks of her having the potential of a huntress."

"Wait, wait a minute." Aaron interrupted, hands in the air. "You're telling me that Cinder, the person that sided with Salem and came back to the past to kill us Cinder, was the same as us? A Huntress-in-training?"

"It seems so. She was like us, at some point." Rae agreed, slowly nodding her head.

"H-How? How could...What could drive her to join Salem?" Mystic questioned, in wonder.

"I'm not exactly sure if something bad happened at her home village, the files seem to be partially corrupted. But context clues does hint at something bad happening to Cinder, before she made her way to Haven." Rae informed, thinking about the possibilities. "It might be the death of her mother, but that's way ahead of her going to Haven, and the corrupting in between."

"That's... wow."

"Yeah. After Cinder's father heard the rumors of her becoming a Huntress, he took her bow and made her life even more miserable that ever before. And when a merciless snowfall struck, it made it impossible to get a healer for her mother, which eventually led to her death."

The room was silent. Mystic felt bad for Cinder, even though she was trying to kill them. Her life could have ended up the same way, in multiple situations while she was in the White Fang. Aaron was trying his hardest to deny having sympathy for Cinder. He felt bad, no person should have to go through that, ever. Before Aaron decided to be a Huntsmen-in-training, he traveled around Remnant, taking down abusive fathers as he went. Bolt didn't exactly know how to feel. He did feel bad, but he was more confused about how Cinder meet Salem, and why she's still with Salem. From what Bolt knew, no one checked if she was even alive that last time he fought with her. That had to be Salem's decision.

"That's the farthest I got before Future Duke showed up." Rae added, arms crossed as she leaned against the table. "I'll continue."

Bolt was brought out of his thoughts as Rae started reading. "The following weeks were the hardest for Cinder. The first couple days, she cried her eyes out. She hardly ate and spoke even less. She did her chores, because it was all she could do. Not even the harm from her father at her work wasn't even enough to affect her grief-weakened state. One day, her father decided that he wanted to "restart" their relationship."

"That can't be good." Aaron thought out loud.

"Yeah, obviously, he didn't actually want to get along with her. They went to restock on food, which meant they went hunting together. Sadly, the hunt was greatly unsuccessful, with only a few kills from each. On the way back Cinder's attention to her footing was lost for a moment, briefly focusing on moving the hunting bag from one shoulder to the other, when she slipped. Before she even realized that it was happening, the world tilted and she lost all sense of what was up or down. Pain cracked against the side of her head and she didn't even feel herself falling. Soon, after what felt like an eternity, she finally came to a crashing halt, her body plowing through snow, wood and rock, in a heap at the bottom of a steep incline. In her jumbled state of mind, she couldn't tell, only that it had hurt."

"No shit that hurt. I mean, sure, Aura is a thing but, damn." Aaron said, shocked at how descriptive the fall was.

Rae continued. "Cinder struggled to stand up, as if she forgot what that even meant. All she felt was something warm and sticky run down the side of her head and back. She was bleeding. Any kind of movement sent large spikes of pain in her body. She crumpled against the tree she found next to her. She called out to her father, trying to hide the fact that she was in pain. With no reply came to her shout, she forced herself to her back, looking up to the top of the ravine. She could see him, barely, but she knew he was there. She called out to him once again, louder the time around, her voice trembling with pain. Then, just as quickly as she lost her balance, her father bent down, grabbing the bow she dropped and moved to make her way back home, without her."

"And that's when the file corrupted. It makes the words after impossible to read." Rae said as Aaron violently stood from his seat.

"That bastard!" He shouted, hands balled into fists. "How could he leave her like that?! I hate assholes like that!"

"Calm down, Hot Head. We can't do anything about it now." Bolt said, causing Aaron to glare at him. "But, we can find a way to talk her out of it, maybe."

"Oh yeah?! What are we supposed to do if that doesn't work?! Huh?!"

"Then we stop her." Bolt said, simply. "And send her back to wherever she came from."

"Fine." Aaron said after a few seconds of silence.

"Um, let's hurry and check out the village." Mystic cut in, the two boys still glaring at each other. "We arrived ten minutes ago."

"Wait, we can't land here." Rae said, the boys still glaring at each other. "There's no landing pad."

Neither boy moved, causing Rae to angrily sigh. "Fine. I'll steer us to Mistral."

Bolt stood up, walking past Aaron, and towards his room. Aaron waited a few seconds before moving to his room, angry at Bolt's words. Rae sighed as she and Mystic both went to their respective rooms, gearing up to explore the village.

**Setting: Cinder's Home Village**

After getting geared up, Rae steered the airship to Mistral's landing station. They team then made the long journey to the village's location, with Aaron complaining the whole time. As they walked towards the village, they saw that the path was covered in snow, just like the photos. But, there were other things about it as well. Some spots of the snow were burnt, showing that something involving fire happened in the past.

As they walked, Mystic noticed foot prints in the snow. Most of the ones she saw were partially covered by snow. The only way she could even see them was because of her faunus nature. They all looked way to big to be a person's foot. Her only guess to whose these foot prints belonged to, were Grimm. Bolt also noticed that not only was the snow burnt, but so were the trees. They looked like they would fall from the smallest gust of wind, or a light tap of a finger.

"Guys! Up ahead." Aaron called out, bringing attention to him.

The other three walked up to Aaron, who was standing on the top of a hill small, snow covered hill. Once they reached the top, they saw the same horror as Aaron. They found the village they were looking for, but in wasn't like the photos at all. The village was in ruins. The buildings were all burnt to a crisp, and others had completely fallen apart. Even the entrance was burnt, but that was only apart of it. The entrance was completely destroyed, the gate barely hanging on it's place.

"Well, guess we go in?" Aaron suggested, with a shrug.

Bolt took a step forward, without speaking, heading toward the village entrance. The others followed close behind him, shocked at the fact that Bolt just walked without saying anything. Aaron grabbed his plasma rifle off his back, scanning the area. Mystic and Rae pulled out their long-ranged weapons as well, watching all their angles. Bolt pulled open the gated entrance, allowing the team access into the destroyed village.

When the team walked in the village, the first things they saw were skeletons, buried in snow. Mystic jumped, letting out squeak. Rae, regretfully, analyzed the nearest skeleton. She found that they had been dead for a long time, possibly when Cinder was living there. One touch of the skeleton, and it's arm disintegrated into dust. They continued on, looking around at their surroundings.

There were multiple buildings in the small town, seven in total. One was the bar that they saw in the photos of the village, but it was burnt to a crisp. There was also a farm, that looked like it housed many kinds of animals. It also had a farm house connected to it. The other buildings appeared to be normal homes. Aaron looked around, seeing a sign, buried in snow, on the ground. He bent down, moving the snow off the sign, seeing what this village was called.

"Hey look, a sign." Aaron said, bringing attention to him. "The village is called Alryne. Whatever the hell that means."

"That's a pretty name for a village." Mystic complimented.

"Where should we start looking," Rae questioned, looking at Bolt, who was looking towards a certain house. "For clues, that is."

"We split up. Check more ground that way." Bolt answered, heading towards the house he was looking at. "I'll start over here."

"What?! Split up?! Are you crazy?!" Aaron questioned as Bolt walked off. "You've never seen a horror movie?!"

"Nope." Bolt popped the "P" as he walked off.

"Dammit." Aaron muttered under his breath. "Okay, since I've seen horror movies, we're sticking together."

"But, what about Bolt?" Mystic asked, concerned about her teammate.

"I trust that he'll be fine." Rae reassured, resting a hand on Mystic's shoulder. "He'll call if he needs us anyways."

"You know, you seem a lot happier since our fight with AZRE." Mystic stated, looking at Rae in the eyes as her faunus ears perked up. "Did something happen between you and Robyn?"

"Oh no, not you too." Rae groaned as she tried to hide her blush. "Damn you, Aaron."

"I have converted Mystic to the dark side!" Aaron cheered as he maniacally laughed.

"Shut up and let's go to the barn." Rae said, walking towards the destroyed barn. "It's the biggest place here. It'll save us a lot of time if we do it first."

The three made their way to the barn, stepping over large blocks of snow and skeletons. Aaron walked ahead as they came across a fallen building in their way, burning an opening through it. Aaron quickly walked out, heading towards the barn. Rae had to put out the fire that Aaron created before the building collapsed on her and Mystic. Rae almost yelled at Aaron, until she noticed the barn in front of them.

It was way larger than it looked at the entrance. Rae's anger was wiped away as she looked up at the large building. She couldn't believe that it was a barn anymore, but fenced entrance way said other wise. Mystic's nose scrunched up as the smell of the barn hit her. She could smell the dead animal carcasses, way more than the human skeletons, bloods or scorches in the village. Mystic turned away, gagging as she stepped back.

"Mystic?" Rae looked back to see Mystic facing away from the barn, leaning on a wooden beam. "You okay?"

"N-Not really." Mystic admitted. "It smells... really bad here."

"Yeah, it's not pleasant." Aaron added as he hopped over the gate. "I might be even worse for a faunus."

"Yep, much worse." Mystic agreed, a hand covering her mouth.

"Okay, we'll stay out here. Aaron you go...inside." Rae turned back to see Aaron was already in the barn. She knew this by the low light moving in the barn. Rae turned back to Mystic, placing a hand on her back. "Come on, let's get you away from here."

While Rae guided Mystic away from the barn and towards the middle of the village, Aaron made his way to the barn. As he entered the barn, he covered his nose. He also light a flame in his hand, lighting the area up. It was just as he expected, empty stables and dead animals. Aaron continued walking forward, stepping over skeletons and dead animals.

Aaron soon came across a workbench, which had left over tools and saddles scattered across it. Aaron also saw blueprints for multiple things, but the one that stood out was one for a bow that could split into two blades. Aaron couldn't read anything on the blueprint, so he moved on. The ladder to the top floor was broken beyond repair. Aaron didn't see the point of flying up their, due to the fact that most of the top floor was on the ground.

Aaron turned back, walking back to the entrance of the barn, still plugging his nose. Once he made it outside, he took a breath of fresh air. He looked around for the girls, only to see that they were away from the barn. He immediately spotted them in the middle of the village. As he made his way over, a certain thought ran through his head.

_"Where the hell is Bolt?"_

While the others were searching the barn, Bolt was doing something completely different. He headed straight for the house he was staring at since they entered the village. Once Bolt made it to the house, he tried to open the door, only for it to be locked. Bolt used his strength to force the door open, looking inside the home. He was surprised that it was actually pretty nice in the house. It would have been much better if most of the items were either burned, destroyed, or falling apart. Bolt walked over to the kitchen, seeing that it was also destroyed. In the corner, he saw a lonely chair. It was covered in spiderwebs, dust, and ash. Bolt sighed as he put the pieces together. This was Cinder's home.

Bolt made his way out of the kitchen, ending up in front of the stairway to the upstairs. He looked up the stairs to see it was caved in, completely impossible to be climbed up. Bolt continued onward, not seeing the stairs as a way forward. This landed Bolt in the living room, or at least what was left of it. It was extremely dark in the room, but Bolt could make out a few pieces of furniture. Bolt turned around, looking at the wall behind him.

"You can talk now, you know." Bolt said suddenly. "I know you're here, and it's just me."

"How'd you know?" A woman's voice questioned.

"Being an Elemental has it's perks." Bolt responded as he turned back, seeing glowing amber eyes in the corner of the room. "I can... sense you, in a way."

"Oh? How fascinating." The woman said, sarcasm clear in her voice. "How did you find this place?"

"Broke into Haven, stole your files." Bolt explained, seeing the woman's eyes glare at him. "Some advice: when taking over the world, make sure you erase any trace of yourself."

"I don't need your damn advice. I know exactly what I'm doing." The woman said through her teeth.

"If you knew what you were doing, I'd be dead already." Bolt countered. "I mean, come on Cinder, I thought you were determined to complete this mission. For Salem-"

"You don't know anything about me!" Cinder yelled, standing up, her eyes glowing even brighter. "What you found doesn't count."

"Even if it doesn't, I know enough." Bolt said, staring Cinder right in the face. "What I don't know is why you're still with Salem."

"That's none of your business." Cinder argued, aggressively.

"I think it is when it involves killing me to declare Remnant as hers." Bolt fired back, just as aggressive. "I'm not letting her takeover."

"It's not that simple. It never is." Cinder muttered, crossing her arms against her chest, in the dark.

"Why do you even follow Salem anyways? I thought you were a Haven student." Bolt asked, leaning against a chair, keeping his guard up. "What's the point when she doesn't even care about you?"

"What are you talking about?" Cinder asked, genuinely confused at Bolt's question.

"What? You don't know?" Bolt asked, sarcastically. "As far as I know, back at Haven, no one came back for you. In fact, I watched them all run away. Probably an order from Salem-"

"You...You're wrong!" Cinder interrupted. "You have no idea of what you're talking about-"

"You sure? Or are you just saying that because you know I'm right-"

"I said shut up!" Cinder yelled, violently waving her hand.

Bolt quickly dodged what seemed like glass shards as they came at him with incredible speeds. Bolt reached out to touch the shards stabbed into the wall. When he touched the shards, he quickly pulled his hand back in pain. The shards were incredibly hot, and they burned Bolt's finger tips. Bolt looked back to see that there were no glowing amber eyes glaring him down. Cinder was gone, but as Bolt continued to look around, he heard a faint whisper.

"Prepare to have everything you love stripped away from you, Bolt Rai. Prepare for the hybrids."

"That's a first." Bolt muttered, feeling his Scroll vibrate. It was a call from Aaron, which Bolt really didn't want to answer. "What's up?"

"Yo! Where the hell are you?" Before Bolt could answer, Aaron continued. "Actually, never mind. You find anything?"

"...No." Bolt hesitantly answered.

"Well shit," Aaron sighed. "Then there's no point in being here, right? Let's head home. I'm hungry."

"Okay, I'm on my way." Bolt said as he walked out of the house, thinking about the conversation with Cinder, and how different it could've went.

* * *

**Vortex trained their Elementals to be Maiden hunters to cover up Coldwell's world domination plan. This includes a "Maiden sense" type of thing. It's more of a feeling than a sense. For example, if Bolt was in a very populated village, he would feel that there is a Maiden nearby.**

**Coming up: Strike's Back Part 2**


	11. Strike's Back Part 2

**Setting: Dirt Path**

Team AMBR walked all the way back from Cinder's home village, and Aaron complained the whole way. They finally made it back to Mistral, everyone sighing with relief as lights came into view. Bolt thought about his conversation with Cinder the whole way back, thinking about how things could have gone. If he had asked the right questions, and said the right things, maybe he could've gotten the answers he wanted. He honestly didn't know what to do now. He didn't know how to talk people down, it wasn't a thing he was taught how to do. He was a fighter, not a therapist. He would always let his sisters, or friends, talk for him. Even though he got lucky with words, he never knew what to say exactly.

Bolt sighed as he looked over to his friends. Aaron and Rae were arguing about how far away Mistral actually was, which it wasn't. Bolt wouldn't even need to use his semblance to get there faster. As he looked up, Rae pointed out the they could see the lights of the city from where they were currently. Bolt looked over at Mystic, seeing that she was smiling as she watched the eldest of the team argue. Bolt didn't know what, but something about Mystic's smile made him feel something. He had no clue of what he was feeling, all he knew was that he liked it.

Mystic, feeling Bolt's eyes on her, turned towards the boy. She smiled at him, which he gladly returned as he faced toward. The four finally stepped foot in Mistral, Aaron cheering as he ran ahead.

"Hey! Don't run ahead! I'm not there to watch you!" Rae called out, Aaron not listening as he got further and further away. "Ugh! Come on, we gotta catch up with him before he does something."

"Or get lost." Bolt added.

"That too."

**Setting: Mistral Docking Port**

Thankfully, Aaron was caught up with before he destroyed anything. He was directed in the right direction, towards the airship. The four then maneuvered through the busy docking port, before finding their airship. Aaron climbed in, almost immediately. Rae walked in next, planning on putting in the new found information in her scroll, away from people. Bolt walked over to the side, paying for their stay. Before Mystic stepped onto the airship, she heard something, causing her faunus ears to twitch. Mystic looked around, trying to find what her ears picked up. She used her enhanced hearing to pick out what she heard through all the noise. She spotted a figure in a hooded cloak. She squinted, trying to get a look at their face. It was difficult for her, with all the lights messing up her decent night vision. Before she could get a good look, the man vanished into the Central Station.

"You okay, Mystic?" Bolt asked as he walked up.

"Y-Yeah. I think so." Mystic responded, hesitantly, looking toward the Central Station.

"You don't sound so sure. What's wrong?" Bolt's head tilted as he asked the question, his hands finding his pockets.

"Well, I don't know how to describe it," Mystic shivered as she turned to Bolt. "But it felt like I was being watched, and when I went to look, I saw a cloaked man walk into the station."

"Oh," Bolt said, looking over to the station. "I mean, we can check, if you want."

"I'd like that." Mystic smiled.

"Okay. Let's go." Bolt said as he lead the two toward the Central Station, not knowing that three people were watching them from the shadows.

**Setting: Mistral Central Station**

Bolt and Mystic walked into the busy station, seeing people run left and right to catch their train. Mystic looked around for the cloaked figure, but couldn't spot him through the crowd. Bolt looked around as well, not able to see any better than Mystic within the crowd. As they looked for the figure, they got a good look at Central Station. It was a large place, needing to be so for all the people to come and leave Mistral. The station had a large hall with ticket booths, with massive lines of people waiting for their ticket or their train. It also had a decent sized a food court, which some people gravitated towards. Bolt even saw gift shops and mailboxes.

"You see anything?" Bolt asked, looking over to Mystic.

"No. It's too difficult through the crowd, and it's too loud to single a person out." Mystic responded, sighing in defeat.

"Let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way." Bolt said, Mystic nodding in response. "Be careful, we don't know what we're dealing with."

"Okay."

With that, the two split off, in search for the cloaked figure. Bolt went left, and Mystic went right. Bolt looked around, walking past loads of different people. They appeared to be from all over Remnant. If he wasn't careful, someone might recognize him. He put his hood on, hiding his face from everyone around him. He still kept an eye out for the cloaked figure, though, not seeing them at all. He looked up at the platforms above, not seeing anyone suspicious. He did feel that he missed something, though.

Bolt made his way to the Holographic departure boards, seeing all the 28 trains listed on it. His face fell as he read that the Vale train was out of order. Bolt looked away from the board, looking over to the left to see a hooded figure standing in the middle of the area. Bolt walked up to the figure, making his way through the loads of people. Bolt escaped the sea of people and reached his arm out towards the figure. Before he was able to touch the hooded figure, it suddenly disappeared.

"What the-" Bolt was then kicked in the back, causing him to crash into a a bench.

"Well, I didn't think that would actually work." A voice said, causing Bolt to look up.

"Son of a bitch." In front of Bolt, was Soul, with his huge buster sword in his hand. "Had a feeling it was you."

"I will succeed. I will complete my mission." Soul informed, readying in his sword. "And it starts with your death!"

_"What's with me and having to die for a plan to work these days?"_ Bolt asked himself sarcastically as he blocked Soul's attack with his sword.

Bolt parried Soul's sword, pushing him back. Bolt looked around to see that the people around them were still around them, watching the encounter. "What the hell are you doing? Get the hell out of here before you die!"

With that, everyone scattered, screaming as they ran towards the exit. Mystic was on the other side of the station as she heard the commotion. She looked around, seeing people run as fast as they could towards the exit. Mystic used her faunus hearing to try and hear what was happening. She couldn't hear over the screaming, so she just ran towards the center of the commotion. Before she could get far, as a bladed staff was thrown in her path. Mystic looked over to see Ranina walking towards her.

"Hello, Mystic." Ranina said, grabbing her staff from the ground. "You're coming with us."

Mystic pulled out Ashwood, shifting it into it's bow from, and aiming at a grinning Ranina. "I don't think so."

Bolt and Soul clashed swords, but Soul was surprisingly stronger this time around. Soul pushed Bolt back, before swinging his sword at Bolt. Bolt barely managed to block the attack, still being sent back a few feet. Bolt stopped himself, just before he crashed into someone hiding behind a foot stand. Bolt shooed the girl away, not hearing Soul charge at him. The girl screamed as she saw Soul coming, which caused Bolt to turn at look at Soul. Soul thrusted his sword at Bolt, planning to pierce right through him, which caused the man to run. Bolt's instincts kicked in. He dodged the sword strike, spinning as he jumped out of the way. Bolt followed it up by using his leg to kick Soul in the back of the head, sending him into the food stand and everything else behind it.

"Damn. He got better." Bolt said, as he walked toward Soul. "Asshat."

**Setting: AMBR Airship**

Aaron and Rae were inside the airship, doing whatever they felt like doing. Aaron was in his room, resting, while Rae was typing on a holo-computer. As Rae was typing, she heard screaming from outside. She stood up and opened the door, waiting for the ramp to hit the ground before walking out, seeing everyone run out of the Central Station. Her head tilted in confusion. Rae walked out of the airship and tapped the closest person on the shoulder.

"What's going on?" She asked, causing the man to turn.

"I-I don't know! Two guys are fighting in there." The man said in between breaths, pointing at the Central Station. "One was in a black hood, and the other had a giant sword on his back!"

"Okay, thank you." The man continued running, which Rae payed no mind to. "Hey, Aaron."

"What's up?" The pink haired pyro asked. "Why's everyone running?"

"I think Bolt's fighting someone." She responded. "In the Central Station."

"What?! Without me?! That asshole!" Aaron yelled, running back in the airship. A few seconds later, he came back out, fully geared up. "Meet you inside!"

Rae sighed as she walked back into the airship, grabbing Nightswift off a desk nearby. She closed and locked the door of the airship. "Couldn't wait to fight someone. I'm friends with maniacs."

**Setting: Central Station**

Mystic and Ranina were in a heated battle. Ranina swung her bladed staff at Mystic, slashing everything around them. Mystic flipped around, avoiding Ranina's attacks. Mystic fired an ice dust arrow at Ranina, once she got some space in between themselves. Ranina dodged the arrow, throwing a garbage can at Mystic. Mystic dodged the garbage can, firing another arrow at the faunus. Ranina blocked the arrow with her staff, only to have it freeze on her. Mystic ran forward to attack, but was stopped as a bullet landed in front of her.

Mystic looked up to see Kori and Teo on the platform above her. She almost didn't recognize them. They had all changed in some sort of way, even Soul and Ranina changed. Ranina's hair was blonde instead of black, but the fur on her ears were still black. Kori's hair was a lighter gray, while her ears were black. Teo didn't change all that much, but he wore a dark green trench coat and had a strange glove on. Ranina wore a purple jacket with black pants and boots, while her sister wore the opposite.

Teo moved to hop over the railing, only to have a fire ball strike him in the face, sending him back across the platform. Mystic and the Faunus sisters looked over to see Aaron and Rae running towards them. Aaron used his semblance to fly up and onto the platform, charging at Teo.

"Sorry we're late." Rae said as she ran up to Mystic. "Can you handle her?"

"I got it. Deal with Kori." Rae nodded as she made her way to the platform stairway, firing bullets at Kori as she did so.

Teo caught himself on a railing as Aaron rolled in front of him. Teo charged Aaron, who smiled as he did so. Aaron jumped up onto the railing, dodging Teo's glaive. Teo jumped onto the railing, prepared to face Aaron.

"Oh, it's you guys again. I see you got new threads." Aaron said, hand on his sword.

"I didn't only get "new threads"." Teo said, as he threw something at Aaron. "I also have presents, just for you!"

Aaron looked at what Teo threw at him, seeing silver spheres flying at him. Aaron could see that they had glowing red lines as they flew towards Aaron. Before Aaron knew it, he was thrusted back and onto the ground, his aura taking the attack for him.

"Bombs. What did I expect?" Aaron asked himself sarcastically as he stood back up. "Kind of ironic, though."

"Did you like that? I bought those, just for you." Teo said as he stepped down from the railing.

"Don't say it like that, you're making this weird." Aaron said, unsheathing his sword.

Back with Soul and Bolt, the latter walked up towards Soul, who was still on the ground in the rubble of the stands. Before Bolt could get any closer, Soul aimed his sword at Bolt, who dodged the blade as the tip shot out. Soul used his sword's new grapple to pull himself up and punch Bolt. Bolt took the punch, letting his aura take the attack. Bolt used the momentum from Soul's punch to spin around and sweep the Wolf Faunus' feet up from under him. Bolt followed up with a kick to the chest, sending Soul back into an open area.

Soul recovered as Bolt charged him. He looked up, seeing Bolt run at him. He smiled as Bolt wasn't using his semblance to fight him. "Not using your semblance?"

"Why would I?" Bolt said, sarcastically. "Are you gonna go down easy?"

"What?! No." Soul responded confusedly, blocking Bolt's sword.

"That was rhetorical, but since you answered it..." Bolt jumped up, kicking Soul in the face. "You better not. I have something more important to do that deal with you. And if you're going to get in the way of that, then you better make it worth it."

Soul was sent back as few feet, with Bolt on his heel. Bolt kicked at Soul, who blocked with his giant sword. Bolt flipped off of Soul's sword, pulling out his pistols. Bolt fired at Soul, who continued to block with his sword. Bolt eyebrows raised at Soul taking his time to find an opening, gaining an idea for himself. Bolt started to run in circles around Soul, firing more bullets as he did so.

Soul used his giant sword to block the bullets, spinning along with Bolt as he ran around him. This continued for a few moments, with Soul being confused with how Bolt hasn't run out of bullets. Suddenly, Soul felt something graze his leg. He looked down to see that he had a cut on his leg. He looked behind him to see a bullet hole in the wall.

What Soul didn't know, due to his vision being blocked from his giant sword, Bolt had turned, moving the other direction from where he was running. Giving himself that opening, Bolt shot at Soul, grazing his leg. Soul quickly adjusted to Bolt's strategy, but was fooled again as he was struck on his left side. Bolt was using Soul's sword being big, and in his way as an advantage. Bolt kept switches sides when Soul least expected. Bolt was getting cocky as he landed his hits. Bolt got so confident and cocky, that he accidentally used his semblance to take Soul down.

Soul smiled as Bolt charged him with his semblance, waiting for the latter to get in close range. Bolt suddenly slowed down, returning to normal running speed. The boy cursed under his breath as he came back to his senses. Soul was waiting for Bolt to start showing off, and for him to make a mistake. Using his semblance.

Soul swung his sword at Bolt as he came in, finishing off his trap. Bolt reacted faster than Soul's swing, ducking under it just in time to dodge it. Before Soul could turn around, Bolt started his counter attack. He used his upper body strength to spin around, on one hand, and kick Soul in the back, sending him flying towards Mystic and Ranina.

Mystic and Ranina were in a clash. Ranina swung her bladed staff as Mystic dodged or blocked it with her bow. Mystic jumped up, aiming her bow at Ranina. Mystic fired an arrow, which Ranina blocked with her staff. The arrow Mystic fired was filled with fire dust, which exploded on impact as it touched Ranina's staff. The Jaguar Faunus went flying back, crashing into a bench. Mystic quickly loaded ice dust arrows, firing them at Ranina. They froze Ranina's body, encasing her in ice. Mystic ran over to Ranina, aiming her bow at her, ignoring Soul as he flew over the two.

"Give up, Ranina." Mystic ordered, aiming the bow at Ranina's head.

"You think I'm done? I barely even start-" Mystic struck Ranina's in the head with her bow, knocking her out.

"I think you are." Mystic said, officially defeating Ranina.

Aaron charged Teo, sword in hand. He swung his blade, causing Teo to dodge. Teo threw two more bombs at Aaron, who dodged the first, and kicked the second away. They both exploded, the force from the first sending Aaron forward. Aaron used the push to attack Teo, switching his sword out for his plasma rifle. Aaron rained fire down on the Ticking Time Bomb, watching as he ran around to dodge the energy bullets. Aaron landed on the ground to a face full of bombs, his aura taking the hit. Aaron covered quickly, landing near Rae and Kori.

Rae was having a strange time fighting Kori. The faunus hadn't revved her chainsaw at all. She just swung her chainsaw like a giant sword, carefully picking when to attack. Rae was confused the whole time at this. The last time she fought Kori, she was swinging her chainsaw left and right. Kori was tame. Rae ran around, dodging the massive chainsaw while she fired her mini-uzis at her. Rae shifted her guns into escrima sticks, charging at Kori.

Rae slammed her sticks against Kori's chainsaw, who used it to block Rae's attacks. Rae jumped onto Kori's chainsaw, running up it to kick Kori in the face. Kori stumbled backwards, stunned at Rae's kick. Rae landed on the floor, watching as Kori assembled herself together. Rae turned to the sound of explosions, seeing Aaron stand up a few feet from her. An idea popped into Rae's head as she turned back to see Kori finally rev up her chainsaw.

Simultaneously, Kori and Teo charged their opponents, bladed weapons in hand. Rae turned back to Aaron, calling out to him before he attacked Teo. "Aaron! I have an idea!"

"Huh? What? I'm kinda busy here." Aaron said, preparing to combat Teo.

"Just follow my lead." Rae said, running towards Aaron with Kori right behind her.

"Wait! What the hell are you doing?!" Aaron asked, in great confusion.

"Switch!" Rae yelled as she ran to Aaron.

"What?!" Aaron instinctively ran towards Rae, not knowing what Rae was thinking.

Once closer enough, Rae ducked, showing Aaron what her plan was. Aaron started running faster, gaining enough speed to carry out his part of her plan. Aaron jumped over Rae, kicking Kori in the chest while Rae slid on the ground, hitting Teo in the legs with her sticks. Aaron continued his attack by blasting Kori with his plasma rifle, which was now loaded with fire dust. The dust exploded on impact with Kori, sending the faunus off the platform and onto the ground below them. Teo wasn't expecting to be tripped by Rae. Teo fell down, Rae pinning him down. Rae then activated the taser in her sticks. She kept the taser on Teo until his aura broke, leaving him defenseless. Rae punched Teo in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Rae stood up, looking over to Aaron, who was looking over the edge. She ran up to him, seeing what he was seeing. Mystic froze Kori's body, and knocked her out. Three down, one to go. They looked around the station, not seeing Bolt or Soul anywhere.

"Guys!" Aaron and Rae looked down, seeing Mystic on the waving up to them. She pointed toward their south, her north. "They're other there!"

Aaron and Rae ran over to the other side of the platform, seeing Bolt and Soul fighting on the ground.

Bolt charged at Soul, sword in hand. Soul threw a bench at Bolt, who easily sliced it in half. Soul used the distraction to fire the tip of his blade at Bolt, who barely dodged it. The tip pierced into the wall near them, pulling Soul forward. Bolt ducked under Soul as he flew at him, turning to face his opponent. Soul unhook his sword, jumping off the wall and towards Bolt. Bolt blocked Soul's sword swipe, parrying him to the side. Soul skidded on the ground, jumping at Bolt. Bolt jumped over Soul, dodging his attack, while grabbing his tail and throwing him toward a wall.

The wall crumbled on impact, causing Soul to crash on the ground, covered in rumble. Bolt walked up to Soul, pulling out one half of Rosé and aiming it at Soul.

"What? Are you going to shoot me?" Soul asked, slowly standing up.

"What kind of question is that? Yes, I will." Bolt said, honestly disappointed that the question was even asked.

"You better do it fast," Soul said, Bolt's head tilting in wonder. "Cause I won't ever stop."

"You'll stop when I tell you to stop, asshole." Bolt threatened. "Leave Mystic alone, or I'll-"

**"Attention! Everyone in the Central Station is under arrest! Drop your weapons and stay where you are!"** A man's voice echoed as a spotlight shined through windows of the station, causing everyone to stop.** "Any resistance with result in unwanted violence! So, I advice that you ****cooperate!"**

"Shit." Bolt cursed under his breath as Soul laughed.

"What are you going to do? Kill me, or get away?" Soul laughed. "Because if I know the Mistral police force, and I know I do, that will surround and storm this place in seconds."

"Bolt!" Rae called out from the bottom of the stairs. "We have to go."

"Dammit." Bolt groaned as he looked at the airships flying over the station through the windows. "Stop laughing, asshole!"

Bolt kicked Soul in the head, before running toward the others. They quickly ran out of the building, ignoring the yells around them, hoping into their airship. They took off, leaving the area as quickly as they could. Their only destination; home.

* * *

**Being a Cheetah Faunus, Mystic has great daytime vision, meaning she can see great distances during the day. Her night time vision isn't all that great.**

**Strike have all better themselves in some way. ****Ranina also found a way to make a holographic clone through a computer with her semblance. Soul has gotten better with strategies and leading. Ranina and Kori have gotten better and making judgment calls when fighting. Kori's semblance also gives her a view of the whole battlefield, rather than just a few meters from where she's standing****. ****Teo has gained more weapons to use while he fights. ****Teo has new portable bombs that Aaron calls Cherries.**

**Coming up: Hybrid War**


	12. Hybrid War

**Setting: Agradia**

The airship landed at the docking port, with Team AMBR quickly running out of it. Luckily, no one followed them. The four took long and deep breaths, glad that they made it home safe. The four looked at each other, knowing that they were going to have to talk about what happened later. And they were going to talk about it. Later. For now, they were going to relax, and get some much needed sleep. Rae went back into the airship, grabbing her Scroll of the table before walking into the Right Quadrant of Agradia, the others following right behind her. This quadrant was were the technology of Agradia is held and made.

There were factories, labs, and blacksmiths. Everything technology, weapon, and vehicle related was in the Right Quadrant. This was were Dr. Sierra spent most of her time, when she wasn't in her lab in the castle, or with Autumn. As they walked, several citizens waved and greeted the team, mostly to Bolt. Aaron tried flirting with most of the women that greeted them, only to receive slaps to the face, or just being ignored completely.

When the group of people began to overwhelm the four, they quickly headed toward the castle. They eventually had to run, with most of the citizens following them.

**Setting: Agradia Castle**

"Well, guess who's popular."

"Not you, Aaron." Rae said, causing Aaron to glare at her. "They were all over Bolt."

"Whatever. Dumb prince bullshit." Aaron muttered, as they walked towards their rooms.

"Let's not talk about that." Bolt said, rolling his eyes at Aaron's statement. "We need to discuss what happened with Strike, and how they found us."

"Right," Mystic said, happy to be steering away from the other topic. "I mean, I know Soul has a good sense of smell, he's always had. But I have no idea how he knew we were going to be in Mistral."

"That is strange. It's like they knew." Rae added, thinking about the possibilities.

"Yeah. I mean, they're not exactly a Hunstmen team. They're mercenaries for the White Fang, and mercenaries aren't exactly known for being a coordinated team." Aaron added. "But assassins, now they are a coordinated team."

"Nobody asked, dumbass." Bolt said with an eye roll. "Besides, the White Fang don't have a leader anymore. They're divided. They shouldn't even be a functioning group."

Before any other thoughts could be voiced, Autumn walked up to the four, with the head maid, Zofia, by her side.

"Bolt!" The two looked happy that the team was back, and in one piece. Autumn hugged her brother tightly, barely leaving him air to breath. "You're okay!"

"Autumn! Can't breath!" Bolt breathed out.

"Oh! Sorry!" Autumn let go, allowing Bolt to take a breath. "What took you guys so long? Did you find something?"

"No. We didn't find anything about Cinder at her old village." Aaron answered with a shrug. "But, we were late 'cause we ran into Strike. We were discussing how they found us, but we got nothing."

"Strike?" Autumn asked, with her head tilting in confusion. "I thought you four dealt with them already."

"That's what we thought too."

"I saw Soul spying on us. Bolt and I went to look into it, and then we ended up fighting in the middle Mistral Central Station." Mystic explained, causing Autumn's eyes to widen.

"You fought inside Central Station? Wow, I'm surprised that you weren't followed." Autumn said, wrapping an arm on her brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, we were surrounded by Mistral's police force. Honestly surprised as well." Aaron said, yawning. "Welp, I'm off to bed. Night!"

Aaron walked off, hands on his head as he did so. Rae yawned as they watched him walk off. "I think I'm going to sleep, too. I didn't get any sleep on the way here."

"Neither did Aaron. He ate the whole time while I was doing maintenance for my pistols, and your dust check with Mystic." Bolt said, slowly being crushed by Autumn's side hug. "You probably should sleep, though."

"Dust check?" Rae questioned, hands whipping to her head. "I completely forgot about that! How many did we use during that fight?!"

"Uh, Aaron used two mags. I think Mystic used only ice vials, so just one. And you used, I think three mags." Bolt listed, Rae nodded in conformation.

"Right. Thanks." Bolt nodded back. "Okay, I'm off. Night."

"Mystic?" Mystic turned to Bolt as she heard her name. "You going to bed, too?"

"Probably, I didn't get any sleep either." Mystic said, yawning. "Okay, yeah. I'm gonna sleep."

Bolt watched as Mystic ran to catch up with Rae, his mind playing what Cinder said to him over and over again. Autumn noticed Bolt's facial expression drop as his team left the area. She instantly knew something was wrong, they were twins after all. She could tell that he was deep in thought, he was doing the same thing Sierra said she did; stare off into space.

"Hey, you okay, Blue Jay?" Autumn asked her brother, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just thinkin'." Bolt said, not moving from his position.

"About...?"

Bolt sighed, tiredly. "While we were searching through Cinder's village, I met with Cinder, and I didn't tell the others."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Autumn said, trying to make Bolt feel better with her optimism.

"It wasn't the talk that got to me, it's what she said." Bolt clarified.

"Oh, then what did she say?" Autumn asked.

"She said to prepare to have everything taken from me. To prepare for the hybrids." Bolt answered, sounding confused by the statement. "I've been trying to figure out what it means, and if it's a bluff or not."

"It has to be." Autumn said a matter-of-factly, letting go of Bolt to rest her hands on her hips proudly. "Agradia's a secret kingdom. We have secret military as great as Atlas, maybe even better. Nothing's getting close to the gates without me knowing, not even Grimm."

As Autumn stood proudly, with a big smile. An alarm blared throughout the castle. Autumn sighed as she pulled out her Scroll, knowing she just jinxed it. "What's happening?!"

"My Queen, there's hordes of unknown Grimm has penetrated the shield!" She heard over the Scroll. "They're slowly letting in water. If we don't stop it, we'll be submerged in water in minutes."

"Dammit! I always jinx something!" Autumn yelled angrily. "Do not engage. Hold the line at the gates."

"B-But, ma'am-"

"I know, I know, just do it." Autumn ordered. "Just hold the line, and wait for further instructions. I'm sending in Team AMBR."

"Right."

Autumn hung up the call, turning to Zofia. "Zofia, prepare the military."

"Yes, my queen." Zofia said, running off.

"Don't need to tell me anything, sis." Bolt said, before speeding off to Agradia's gates.

Autumn watched as Bolt sped off, before using her own semblance to find Sierra.

**Setting: Agradia's Entrance**

Bolt stopped as he closed onto the gates, seeing people with assault rifles, shooting down the pathway, while others were waiting for Autumn's instructions. Bolt ran up to the gate, seeing the same Grimm that were at Haven. The shield was open, like Autumn requested, with Grimm storming through it. The riflemen were holding their ground, but Bolt could tell that it wouldn't last.

Before Bolt could run in, he heard a voice call out to him. "Bolt!"

Bolt turned to see the others running towards him.

"I knew you would get here first." Aaron said, still tired. "But do we have to deal with this now? I'm tired!"

"What's the situation?" Rae asked, ignoring Aaron, as she and Mystic grabbed their weapons.

"There's Grimm at the entrance. They're letting the water in." Bolt explained, pulling out his pistols.

"Let's hurry and do this, please. I wasn't even sleep yet." Aaron complained, gaining eye rolls from everyone.

The four ran in, getting cheers from the riflemen around them. Bolt used his semblance to swiftly cut down the Grimm, with Mystic covering him from the back. She easily shot the Grimm with her weapon in it's bow form. Since Mystic was watching Bolt's back for him, he decided to substitute defense for offense. Bolt ran forward, dodging the claws of the Grimm as he sliced them down. Bolt turned as he heard the screech of the Grimm behind him. The Grimm was far to close for Bolt to kill, it being face-to-face with Bolt. Suddenly, the Grimm was impaled with an arrow.

The Grimm fell, with Bolt looked back to Mystic. He nodded to Mystic as a thanks, which she smiled to. Bolt continued on past Aaron, slicing Grimm as he went.

Aaron pulled out his sword, running around the battlefield as he cut down Grimm. He felt Bolt run behind him as he stepped on the now dead Grimm behind him. "Are these the things you fought at Haven?"

When Bolt didn't answer, Aaron ignored him, knowing that the horde of Grimm in front of him were more important. Aaron jumped out of the way of a Grimm's claws, kicking it in the head as a retaliation. Aaron activated the dust in his sword, lighting his sword blade with fire dust. He immediately struck down another Grimm, slicing it in half while also sending a fire slash through the Grimm behind it, thinning out the horde.

While Aaron wasn't paying attention, another Grimm snuck up behind him. Before it could attack him, Rae whacked it with her sticks, shocking it with the taser until it disintegrated. Aaron thanked Rae before running off to continue fighting.

Rae turned to see that the there were more and more Grimm bursting through the hole in the shield, slowly letting water in and turning the dirt ground into mud. If they didn't stop the Grimm so that the shield could be fixed, Agradia would be flooded with water an Grimm. As Rae looked at the hole in the shield, she saw two figure hidden in the sea of Grimm. She couldn't recognize them for where she was, but she knew they were the reason why this was happening.

"Guys!" Rae called out, bringing attention to her. "Someone's out there, they might be the cause of this."

"I'm on it!" She heard Bolt yell, seeing a blue lightning trail run through the Grimm and into the hole in the shield.

"Wait! Dammit." Rae sighed, turning away from the hole. "He'll be fine... I hope."

Bolt ran through the Grimm, bursting through them and towards the hole in the shield. Once Bolt made it through the hole and the Grimm, he found the people Rae was talking about. It was Sunlight and Moonlight. They both looked a little different than last time. Sunlight's hair was a bright crimson red, with brilliant yellow stripes while Moonlight's hair was more dark green than before. Her hair also had a hint of black streaks in it as well. They also had a little more armor on than before. Sunlight now wore black light-armored gauntlets and greaves on her forearms and forelegs along with her outfit. Moonlight wore a silver circlet on her head, that matched with her silver armored on her right shoulder.

The two were commanding the Grimm, similar to Duke at Haven. Bolt remembered that taking down Duke stopped the Grimm, meaning that all he had to do was take out Sunlight and Moonlight and the Grimm will be a slaughter fest. The Twins saw Bolt, and instantly sent some of the horde after him. Bolt walked towards the two, slicing the Grimm they sent at him.

Sunlight smiled as Bolt made his way through the Grimm, she had wanted to do more than just send Grimm into Agradia. She wanted to fight, especially Bolt. Sunlight left the commanding to her sister, pulling out her spear as she got ready to fight.

"Finally, a fight." Sunlight cheered, throwing her spear at Bolt.

"Yeah, yeah," Bolt dodged the spear, running at Sunlight.

Sunlight jumped over Bolt, landing on her spear and using it as skateboard. Bolt grabbed his kurkis from his belt loop, throwing it at Sunlight. She reached immediately, using her semblance to cast it aside. Bolt smiled as his eyes sparked. Sunlight's eyes widened as Bolt vanished from her sight. She looked around only to get a fist to the face. Sunlight fell off her spear and onto the ground, seeing Bolt land next to her. She quickly swiped her leg under his, causing Bolt to trip. He easily recovered, though, catching himself with his hands before flipping off of them.

Bolt distanced himself from Sunlight, who used the time to stand back up. She used her semblance to call her spear to her. She threw the spear right at Bolt, who dodged it. Sunlight's spear flew back to her, following Bolt as he ran at the girl. Bolt noticed Sunlight's smile as he ran at her, and was slightly confused about it. He turned at parried the spear away, remembering her weapon and semblance's connection just in time.

Bolt was now locked in a battle with Sunlight's spear, blocking and parrying the attacks the spear threw at him. Sunlight laughed as she controlled her spear, watching as Bolt struggled to get close to her. Sunlight was too distracted with her laughter, that she couldn't even look at Bolt struggling. Bolt took the chance and grabbed Sunlight's spear from the air. He stabbed it into the ground before using his semblance to run at Sunlight before she could blink.

Sunlight went flying backward, and past Moonlight. Moonlight looked at Sunlight as she landed on the grown, assuming that she was unconscious. Moonlight glared at Bolt angrily, leaving the Grimm to attack while she pulled out her sword and rushed at Bolt. Bolt parried Moonlight's fury filled attacks. Bolt blocked and dodged the attacks, letting Moonlight use up her energy. Bolt found an opening, kicking Moonlight back. Bolt sheathed his sword, quickly pulling out Rosé and aiming them at Moonlight.

On her left, Sunlight slowly stood up, with the help of her sister. Now, both Sunlight and Moonlight stood against Bolt, focused and ready.

"This is gonna be harder than I thought." Bolt said to himself as he prepared himself. "The others better be doing better than me."

Back in front of Agradia's gate, The other three members of AMBR were keeping the Grimm back. It was a struggle as when Aaron killed two, three more would take it's place. Mystic jumped up in the air, firing ice arrows down on the Grimm. Her plan of freezing most of the Grimm to let Rae and Aaron destroy them easier worked, but she knew that it wouldn't last for long. Mystic landed on the ground, using her bow to break the ice along with the Grimm encased inside. Aaron and Rae took advantage of Mystic's plan, breaking the ice that imprisoned the Grimm.

"Guys, this isn't working." Rae stated as more Grimm flooded in, with Aaron running to combat them. "We need to stop them at the hole, and keep them away from it so they can close it."

"I'm on it!" Aaron yelled as he sliced through Grimm, heading straight for the hole in the shield.

Aaron used his semblance to burn the Grimm flooding through the hole, trying to keep them back. The flames from his semblance pushed the Grimm back, forcing them to stay away from the hole. But some got past the fire, running past him at towards the gate. Aaron ignored them, knowing the girls could handle it. He walked forward, pushing the Grimm back until he was in the hole.

"Tell them to close it! I'm going in!" Aaron instructed, walking further past the hole.

Mystic quickly called it in, with the hole closing seconds later. Aaron looked back, sighing with relief as the hole was finally closed, and that the girls dealt with the stragglers. Aaron turned back to see Bolt fighting the Fall Twins while Grimm ran around them, and headed towards him. Aaron ran to them, slicing the Grimm in his way. Aaron was confused as to why the Grimm were only going after the shield and not him or Bolt. He wasn't going to question it as he made his way to Bolt and the Twins. Aaron used his semblance to send out another wave of fire, burning most of the horde.

Bolt was knocked back by Sunlight's kick, causing him to bump into Aaron. Bolt turned, wondering what he bumped into. "Aaron? What're doing here? What about the girls?"

"They're safe behind the shield, but the Grimm won't stop." Aaron reassured, facing the Twins. "What's their deal?"

"They're the ones controlling the Grimm." Bolt responded, much to Aaron's confusion. "Not sure how it works, but the Twins are controlling the Grimm somehow. Duke did the same thing at Haven."

"Okay, and how do we stop them?" Aaron turned to Bolt.

"Well, when I beat Duke, the Grimm stopped." Bolt said with a shrug.

"Stopped? Like stopped moving stopped." Aaron questioned.

"No shit. What other kind of "stop" is there?" Bolt said, rhetorically.

"Okay, so all we have to do is-"

"Kick their asses, yeah." Bolt nodded.

"Perfect." Aaron smiled as he faced the Twins, again, ready to fight.

"We don't have time to show off." Bolt said, causing Aaron to groan, as he looked towards Agradia, seeing the Grimm beat down on the new shield. "The secondary shields aren't as strong as the first. The Grimm will break through again if we stall."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Quick and easy." Aaron waved Bolt off. "Absolute Carnage: Elemental!"

Aaron ran towards the Twins, fire bursting from his feet. He tackled into Sunlight, before grabbing onto her and throwing her into a tree, chipping at her aura. Bolt's eyes sparked as he ran at Moonlight, moving so fast that she couldn't react as he swept her feet from up under her. Sunlight recovered quick enough to jump out of the way as Aaron flew into the tree she was just on. Sunlight called her spear, grabbing onto it. Aaron landed on the three, leaving burn marks on the wood. Aaron looked up to see Sunlight in the air, standing on her spear. He quickly ran up the tree, shocking Sunlight greatly. Before he was bombarded with leaves, Aaron jumped off the tree, boosting himself into Sunlight.

The two fought in the air, Sunlight using her semblance and spear to stay in the air. Aaron slowly overwhelmed her, flying around her as he punched and kicked at her. Aaron grabbed Sunlight's spear from under her, causing her to fall. Sunlight quickly made her spear heavier, heavier enough to surprise Aaron. Sunlight's now heavy spear, dragged Aaron down to the ground with it. As Aaron struggled to keep himself in the air, he got an idea. He looked at Sunlight's spear, and then at Sunlight. He reeled his arm back with all his might before he threw Sunlight's spear at her. Sunlight was too slow to catch her own spear, and was struck by it, causing her to be sent plummeting to the ground. Aaron swiftly landed on the ground while Sunlight crashed into it. Aaron ran over to check on the bright haired twin to see that she was down, aura depleted.

"That's one." Aaron breathed, looking for Bolt.

Moonlight landed on her feet, shifting her sword into a rifle. She scoped in, scanning around for Bolt. All she was was a flash of lightning as he was kicked in the face. Her aura took most of the hit, but she still felt it. Moonlight recovered, only to be hit in the back. She looked around, not able to see Bolt at all. She tried predicting his moves, only to fail as he struck her in the stomach. Moonlight was defenseless as he was bounced around by a blur, chipping her aura slowly. Moonlight used her semblance to teleport away from Bolt line of fire. She shifted her weapon back into a sword, ready to block any of Bolt's attacks. She quickly blocked at sword coming from her left. She parried it away, swiping at the sword's holder, only to swipe at nothing. Moonlight's eyes widened as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could turn and strike, Bolt used his semblance and released a electric pulse through his body. Moonlight's body was electrocuted until her aura broke. Bolt stopped immediately when he saw her aura break, not wanting to kill the woman.

"Alright! That's two!" Aaron yelled as he ran over to Bolt.

"Yeah," Bolt sighed, catching his breath. "The Grimm stopped."

"Oh? They did." Aaron said as he saw the sea of motionless Grimm. He pulled unsheathed his sword, running over to the Grimm. "I'll take them out. You get the Twins."

"Right. I'll get... the Twins?" Bolt looked back to see both women were gone. Not even their weapons were there. They were just gone. "Never mind, then."

Bolt looked back to see Aaron about to kill the last few Grimm. He used his semblance, running over and stealing the kill before Aaron could blink. "What the hell?!"

"Sorry?" Bolt laughed as the two walked back toward the shield.

Bolt put his Scroll up to the shield, watching the levels rise as the first shield was taking the place of the reserves. Bolt walked through the shield, with Aaron right behind him. The two walked to the girls, who were waiting at the gate for them.

"Finally you two are back! What took so long?" Rae asked as she saw the boys walk up.

"We had to beat the Twins. They were controlling the Grimm." Aaron responded, hands in his pockets. "Wasn't a big deal."

"Right." Rae rolled her eyes. "Now that that's finished, we can take a breather... Bolt?"

The three looked on to see Bolt already walking off. "Where are you going?"

"To sleep." Bolt said as he walked through the gates and towards the castle.

"Dammit!" Aaron yelled in annoyance.

"What?"

"Now I'm too excited to sleep!"

* * *

**There has been a change to Sunlight and Moonlight's characters. Sunlight's semblance's name has been changed. Her semblance's new name is Mislead. It does the same thing as it did before, all it got was a name change.**

**Moonlight's semblance has changed a little. Instead of her being able to teleport to only places she can remember, she can teleport as far as 25 feet of the area she's standing in. **

**Sunlight and Moonlight's weapon have new names. Sunlight's spear is now called Sol, meaning sun, and Moonlight's sword is now called Mani, meaning moon. **

**Much like their names, their inspirations have something to do with the sun and the moon. The twin girls are based off of Skoll and Hati of Norse Mythology. Skoll and Hati are wolves that chase the sun and the moon respectively.**

**Coming up: Plain Sight**


	13. Plain Sight

**A/N: I don't own any of the characters associated with the RWBY series. All rights belong to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

**Setting: Agradia**

The next morning, Bolt awoke first. Due to his past daily training, he was used to waking up earlier than normal people would. He made his way out of his bed, looking over to see Aaron sprawled out on his bed. Bolt shook his head as he walked to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he lifted up his shirt. He looked at the bandage on his chest. Bolt slowly pulled the bandage off, throwing it away after it was off. Bolt scanned his scar, seeing that it was fully healed. He still felt sore from the new stitches he gained from reopening it, though.

Bolt looked at the scar more, remembering exactly how he got it. It wasn't pretty, like the most of the others. It was the biggest scar, while the others were small and unnoticeable, the only way to see them being if they're pointed out. Luckily, he can leave that in the past now. Bolt left the bathroom, walking out to see that Aaron was still asleep. Bolt ignored the snoring pyro and walked over to their weapon rack, grabbing Vorpal and Rosé off. Bolt, with everything ready and secure, left the bedroom and headed towards the training area.

**Setting: Training Area**

Once Bolt arrived in the training room, he found it to be empty. He proceeded to make his way to the small simulation section, to train against simple stuff. He set Rosé down on a table near him, decided to train sword fighting this time. He took a fighting stance, sword in hand.

"Sim Start." The area changed from a glowing floor a gray square-patterned floor. Bolt remembered this floor, he just didn't know why.

Bolt was ripped out of his thoughts as he dodged an ice pillar that rose from the ground. Bolt looked at the pillar in confusion. The simulation was build to be the realest looking training simulation ever built, but this was way too real. This wasn't just a random map programmed into the simulation, he remembered this. The floor, the circular room the simulation turned the room into.

"Hey! Beta!" A familiar voice said, causing Bolt to freeze. "Concentrate on me will ya?"

For some reason, Bolt knew exactly what to say. "Y-Yeah, my bad."

Bolt turned, seeing something he thought he'd never see. He saw the Alpha... no. He saw what the Alpha was before he became _the _Alpha_. _Akiri, the person behind the Alpha. He wore a simple T-shirt and sweat pants. He looked exactly the same, just more human than robot.

"You just gonna stand there? I thought you wanted advice."

Again, Bolt knew exactly what to say. "Sorry... What the hell is happening?"

"What do yo mean? We're training. Well, we're standing currently."

"No shit, but... I... How are you so good? At fighting. I mean, you're the Alpha for a reason and I want to know why." The words suddenly came out of Bolt's mouth.

"Well, I'll tell you something simple." Akiri said, hand resting on his hip. "It's not about ranks and power. It's about skill and intelligence. Remember that."

"Huh, so that's were I got that from." Bolt said as the simulation suddenly ended.

"Bolt! Bolt!" Bolt turned to the sound of Sierra's voice as she ran to him, a bag over her shoulder. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine." Bolt said, softly.

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean for the simulation do to that!" Sierra apologized sadly.

"What... What was that?" Bolt asked, looking towards the direction of the simulated Akiri.

"It's...It's an upgrade for the simulation. It's so you don't need to program it each time you want to train. It creates a simulation based on a random memory. I haven't tested it yet, but it looks like it works." Sierra explained, looking back and forth between Bolt and what he was looking towards. "It was supposed to help with potential investigations involving memory. But, it could also be used for trauma, reliving your memories."

"Right."

"What did you see?" Sierra asked, causing Bolt to look to her.

"Nothing important." Bolt said quickly, walking over to the table his pistols were. "Why are you up so early?"

"Oh, I actually came to talk to you." Sierra said sitting down as Bolt examined one of his pistols, putting the bag on the table.

"Yeah? What about?"

"Well, I know you've been dealing with Cinder, and her accomplices..." Bolt nodded in response as Sierra trailed off. She grabbed his other pistol of the table, causing Bolt to look up at her. "So, I thought that you, and the others, could use upgrades. You know, since Cinder's from the future, I think that you should at least have some upgrades to help."

"Okay, that sounds cool." Bolt agreed with a smile, but it fell as he saw Sierra's face. "Why do I feel a "but" coming?"

"But, I don't have the supplies that I need for the upgrades I have planned for you four." Sierra said with a sad smile. "And the only place that has the items I need is in Mantle."

"Damn. That's not gonna be a joyous time." Bolt said flatly, looking to his pistol once again.

"I was also wondering if you would come with me...?" Sierra said, causing Bolt to look back up at her. "I mean, I know you just went through a fight with the Twins and their Grimm, and Cinder has been a huge pain, but I thought we could-"

"Doc, I understand." Bolt chuckled. "And, yeah, I'll come. You do need assistance if you're going to Mantle, anything could happen."

"R-Right." Sierra blushed in embarrassment. "Let's go!"

Bolt grabbed his weapons as Sierra stood. "It's gonna take a while. We can't go by airship, Atlas is in array and will arrest anyone, not of Atlas, in their airspace."

"Yeah, I heard about that. So, how are we getting to Mantle then?" Bolt asked, attaching his pistols to his waist.

"With my latest invention."

**Setting: Grassland**

"This thing's amazing!"

The two were speeding through a grassland in Vale, riding on Sierra's newest invention. It was the first vehicle Sierra ever thought to make. It was an all black hover-cycle with small amber accents. It didn't have proper wheels, being that it could hover. The wheels were hollowed out, and flipped on their sides. The front wheel was slightly wider than the rear.

Bolt drove the vehicle while Sierra rode passenger, holding onto Bolt as they sped off.

"And it's so fast!" Bolt said ecstatically. "Well, not as fast as me, but... you know?"

"Yeah! The main body is made out of reinforced carbon fiber while the rest is lightweight reinforced metal." Sierra explained proudly. "The reinforced metals were used to make the cycle aerodynamic and shock absorbent, to keep it in the air."

"This is insane. When did you have time to make this?" Bolt asked, as he weaved through a forest.

"Well, you're not the only one who's been busy." Sierra smiled as Bolt drove, checking his Scroll. "We don't have much time, let's hurry before it gets too late. I have a dinner date with Autumn tomorrow, and I need to prepare for it."

"Never thought you'd be the type to go out to dinner." Bolt smirked, accelerating as they hit a clear space.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't say no to Autumn when she does ask me the way she did." Sierra smiled to herself, remembering Autumn's proposal.

"Oh yeah? Did she use her classic smirk, or did she seduce you? Or both?" Bolt joked, earning a slap on the head from Sierra.

"Shut up and drive." She commanded, a light blush on her face. Bolt laughed as he headed straight for Mantle, pushing the hover-cycle to it's limits.

**Setting: Mantle**

When Bolt and Sierra arrived at Mantle, Bolt was amazed. He thought the city looked beautiful, even though it looked dense and plain compared to Atlas. Bolt parked the hover-cycle in a dark corner, hiding the hover bike as the two made their way into the city, grabbing a bag off of it. It was raining heavily in the city, causing Sierra to grab her umbrella from her bag. Bolt didn't mind the rain, deciding to put his hood up. Bolt followed Sierra as she headed towards their destination. As they walked, Bolt could see the chains tethered to flying city above, even through the gray fog. He also saw that some people stared at him as they walked by.

Bolt was so distracted with the stares that he didn't notice that Sierra had stopped and turned to him, causing Bolt to bump into her. "Put your hood on. You're kind of wanted here, remember?"

"Oh! Right!" Bolt said as he let Sierra put his hood on.

"Besides, I don't want you catching a cold." Sierra added motherly, continuing on their path.

Bolt chuckled to himself as he continued to follow Sierra to their destination, looking around at what Mantle had to offer. He saw the signs and billboards on the buildings as they walked. On the billboards, he saw that an election was going on between Jacques Schnee and a light-blonde haired woman. Bolt was confused by this. Who would vote for Jacques willingly? Bolt watched as Atlesian Knights patrolled around, which made him cover his face as they past. Bolt looked up to see a screen that displayed Specialist Winter Schnee, causing him to stop. He could tell she looked tired.

_"A reminder: failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense. If your sector is under military lock-down, please ask and report to the city for guidelines. We are here for your safety. Thank you for your cooperation." _

The broadcast ended with it quickly being displayed again. It was on repeat. With how the people around him responded to it, he guessed that it had been playing for a while.

"Bolt!" Bolt turned to see that Sierra was a few feet ahead of him, standing in front of a building, making him realize that he stopped moving.

"Sorry!" Bolt ran to caught up with the woman, apologizing as he caught up. "I never asked, where are we going anyways."

"We're going to visit a friend of mine. One of the greatest minds of Atlas." Sierra answered as she continued to lead the way. "Most of Atlas' technology was designed by him."

"Oh. That's cool." Bolt said as they came up on a building with a green door, facing towards the road, at the end of the path.

Bolt noticed the posters near the door of the same light-blonde haired woman from the election on it. He guessed that the people of Mantle really wanted some change for the city.

"And here it is." Sierra said as she opened the door.

The two walked into the building, entering a small, one-room clinic. Bolt looked around the room, seeing that it was slightly messy. He also was that the balls were blue and the floor boards were very distressed. He looked over to the desk to the left, seeing a flashes of an old man behind books that were stacked on top of the desk. Sierra walked up to the desk, lightly knocking on it.

"Excuse me." She said politely, as she moved a stacks of books over.

"Uh?" The old man looked up at Sierra, his eyes comically. "Caroline! You made it!"

"Hello, Pietro." The man walked out from behind his desk, revealing that he was in a white, green and yellow chair with four movable legs.

Sierra hugged the old man, smiling as she pulled back. "It's been awhile. How have you been?"

"I've been wonderful." Sierra smiled, turning back to Bolt. "Bolt, I'd like to introduce you to Pietro Polendina, the man behind most of Atlas' tech. Pietro, this is-"

"Bolt Rai." Pietro interrupted, moving towards Bolt. "The "B" of Team AMBR. The former Beta."

"You know me?" Bolt questioned, before remembering where he was.

"Of course. I watched your fight at the Vytal Festival." The man smiled. "And Caroline likes to talk about you when we're able to talk."

"Oh... I thought it would be for the other reason." Bolt chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"You mean that you're wanting by the military?" Pietro asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah... that one."

"Well, that doesn't matter to me." He said, surprising Bolt. "I know who you really are. Claret created you, you can't be a bad person."

"T-Thank you." Bolt was lost for words. He never thought anyone from Atlas would think of him like this. "Wait... Polendina? As in-"

"Yes. Penny Polendina is my daughter."

"Right..." Bolt was speechless.

"Okay," Sierra said, bringing attention to her. "Pietro, you remember why I called."

"Yes! You called about some blueprints you'd like to go over with me." Pietro nodding, moving towards the table in the room.

"Exactly." Sierra followed him to the table, taking the blueprints out of her bag and spreading them across the table, while also taking her tools out. "I came up with these weapon schematics for a... problem we have, and you have the parts I need for some of them. I was wondering if you'd help?"

"Claret, I'd be glad to help." Pietro said with a smile. "You don't need to ask."

"Thank you..."

Bolt's attention detoured from their conversation and went to a highly advance chair a few feet from him. He walked over to the chair, amazed by the area it was in. It looked out of place in this nice little space. It reminded Bolt of a lab. Bolt was so distracted by the chair that he didn't hear Sierra call for him.

"Bolt!"

"Hmm?" Bolt turned to look at the two adults, realizing that Sierra had been calling for a while.

"Can you hand me the weapons? Me and Pietro are gonna start upgrading." Sierra said, smiling at Bolt to make him feel less embarrassed.

"Right! Sorry." Bolt handed her the bag with the other's weapons while placing his sword and pistols on the table.

He walked over to sit down on the advanced chair as the two scientists got to work. Sierra turned slightly, checking on Bolt who was starting to get bored. "It won't take us long. Maybe forty minutes to an hour."

"Okay." Bolt nodded, waiting on the chair.

A few minutes later, the two were still working on the weapons. Bolt thought that he could handle the wait, but he was starting to get very bored. They had started with Rae's weapons, her's being the easiest to upgrade. Bolt heard that all Rae wanted was a higher fire rate for her weapons, which Bolt understood. He knew that Rae didn't exactly care for incredible upgrades for her weapon like Aaron did, she liked things simple. So, they moved onto Mystic's.

Bolt heard Sierra say that she wanted to find a way to have the blade of Mystic's weapon in axe form to transfer over to it's bow form. While they were working on that, Bolt's interest in the work faded. He closed his eyes, focusing on anything else. As he did so, he picked up on some yelling coming from outside. He couldn't tell what the yelling was about, but it couldn't be good.

Bolt suddenly got up, walking towards and out the door, causing both Sierra and Pietro to look at him in confusion. Bolt walked out the door, seeing where the yelling was coming from. He saw a young Faunus girl, pinned against a wall, as man yelled at her. Bolt didn't need a reason to help but as he went to move, he felt something pull him back. He turned to see Sierra pulling him back by his arm with a worried look.

"What're doing? I gotta help." Bolt questioned, confused at Sierra's actions. "Do you not want me to help?"

"I was going to tell you to make it quick." She responded.

"Oh... right." Bolt nodded, feeling embarrassed again. "...So Claret, huh?"

"Shut up and help that girl." Bolt quickly went to help the Faunus girl.

"Watch yourself, you filthy faunus! You piss me off just by looking at you." The man, clearly drunk, swung his fist back, aiming to punch the girl.

Before his fist could collide with the girl, Bolt caught it, grabbing onto his wrist. The man didn't have aura, which brought Bolt to slowly break his wrist by squeezing it. The man cried out in pain while the Faunus girl looked in disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bolt asked sarcastically as he applied more force on the man's wrist. "Get the hell out of here."

Bolt pushed the man away, resulting in him running as fast as he could. Bolt turned towards the Faunus girl, seeing that she was a Snake Faunus. He could tell by her eyes and the scales on her face and neck. Bolt extended his hand out, offering it to the girl.

"Here. You're safe." The girl gasped as she looked at Bolt, but Bolt knew better. She was looking past him.

Bolt pulled his hand back as he quickly formed his lightning blade, whipping around to slice whatever was behind him. Bolt saw that he had sliced an Atlesian Knight in half. He sighed as the robot fell to the ground. Bolt turned to the Faunus girl running away, which was probably for the best. "Damn."

Bolt shook his head as he went to walk inside, leaving the robot solider in the middle of the road. Suddenly, Bolt was thrusted off of his feet, landing back in the road. Bolt quickly stood to see a young woman standing on the opposite side of the road.

She had platinum blonde and brown hair that was shaved on the sides with bright violet eyes. She wore a short-sleeved uniform that consisted of a sleeveless white vest, along with a rolled up blue shirt, a red tie and white shorts.

She stood against Bolt with a smirk, like she had already won a fight that had barely started. "Dammit."

* * *

**Coming up: Bolt vs the ****Ace-Ops**


	14. Bolt vs The Ace-Ops

**A/N: I don't own any of the characters associated with the RWBY series. All rights belong to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

Bolt stood against the girl, who stood across the street. He was confused at how she hit him without him seeing her. He didn't have time to think about it as four more people circled in on the location from the rooftops, wearing similar outfits to the girl that attacked him.

"Great, there's more." Bolt rolled his eyes.

"Bolt Rai, I presume?"

"Yeah. Why? I do something wrong?" Bolt asked sarcastically, accidentally stepping on the Atlesian Knight.

"You want me to find the list?" The woman said, equally as sarcastic. "For damaging Atlas property, you are under arrest."

"...Right. Look, I'm really not in the mood for this, nor do I care that I'm "arrested"." Bolt said, hand resting on his hip. "I'm here for one reason, and once I'm done, I'll leave."

"That's too bad, because you're coming with us." She said as robotic fists covered her arms.

"Who are you anyways? I mean, you're extremely confidant, even knowing who I am." Bolt said as he got into fighting stance.

"Harriet of Atlas' elite Ace-Ops." Harriet said as she charged Bolt.

The girl ran at Bolt, faster than he thought she could. Bolt quickly ducked her attack, reaching to grab his sword. He was shocked when he grabbed onto nothing. He cursed under his breath as he remembered that he didn't have any of his weapons. Before he knew it, he was punched in the stomach, sending him across the street. Bolt looked up as Harriet stood, prepared to attack him.

Bolt stood, wondering how this girl was so fast. As he went to move, he saw his answer. He saw the lightning trailing behind her as she sprinted towards him. He glared as he side-stepped the woman, watching as she skidded to a stop and turned to face him. He was starting to adapt and learn what she was doing. It was her semblance. She had a similar semblance to his. One that allowed her to run at super-speeds.

"We have similar semblances." Bolt stated, only to dodge another attack, Harriet not wanting to talk. "It's like lightning against lightning."

Bolt's eyes sparked as he prepared to fight, semblance to semblance. Bolt ran towards Harriet, surprised that she dodged him with her own semblance. The two then started running around the battle field, dodging each other's attacks. To the spectators, all that was seen were blurs and lightning trails moving around the field. Bolt was impressed with Harriet's speed, and how she was able to dodge him. That wasn't going to last long, though.

The two collided, entering hand-to-hand combat. Harriet used her robotic enhanced fist to punch Bolt, who blocked it, letting his aura take the blow. The punch, however, did push Bolt back a bit, giving Harriet an advantage. Bolt quickly recovered, dodging Harriet's attacks. Bolt used his semblance to run up behind Harriet, which she was prepared for. She quickly turned around, only to be punched in the stomach. Bolt kept up his momentum, appearing behind Harriet to kick her to the side.

Harriet recovered, running towards Bolt. Bolt's eyes sparked as he ran at Harriet, ready to finish this. Bolt increased his speed, pushing his semblance to make him faster than Harriet. Harriet was quickly overwhelmed by Bolt's faster pace as he started landing punches she swore he didn't move for. Bolt eventually out speed Harriet completely, kicking her in the chest and sending her back across the street.

"You might want to change your strategy," Bolt said, a small smirk on his face. "You're just not as fast as me."

Harriet growled before calling out to someone. "Marrow!"

"Stay!"

Bolt ignored it, running straight towards her. Bolt reeled his fist back as Harriet stood. Before he could get near her, his movement's slowly stopped. Bolt gained a confused look as he found that he couldn't move at all. Bolt looked to see a man, with greenish-black hair, blue eyes and a wolf tail, walk next to Harriet with his finger pointed at Bolt. Now he understood what the girl called out for.

_"You must be Marrow."_ Bolt thought gritting his teeth, trying to move his body.

"Harriet." Marrow motioned to Bolt, with Harriet responding with a smirk.

The girl ran at Bolt, using her speed to gain momentum. She punched Bolt in the face, just as Marrow let his body go. Bolt was sent tumbling across the street before picking himself back up. Bolt stared at the two Atlas elites, already trying to find a way past Marrow's semblance. He clasped his hands into fists as he kept coming up stumped. Bolt's sparked as he ran towards the two. Bolt made sure to watch Marrow, waiting for when he used his semblance.

Instead of using his semblance, Marrow fired at Bolt with his weapon, causing the boy to maneuver around the bullets. Bolt continued forward, dodging the bullets as he got closer. Bolt felt something coming at him, causing him to stop his momentum and move back. He barely dodged Harriet as she ran in front of Bolt, planning on punching him.

"Stay!" Before Bolt could move, Marrow froze him in place. Harriet ran in, punching Bolt in the chest and launching him back.

Bolt rested on his knee as he recovered, angry that he was struggling against these two. He had no clue of how get around Marrow's semblance, and having Harriet rub that in angered him even more. That was even the end it, he was only dealing with two. There were three more waiting on the roof to join in, and Bolt had no clue of what they could do. Bolt took deep breaths to calm himself as he trying to try figure out what their plan was.

_"I think they're trying to __whittle me down by sending one each time. That's a good tactic, I'll give them that." _Bolt thought to himself as he quickly scanned the group. _"That's strange, though. They're an Atlas "elite" team. They're supposed to have a more thought out strategies than this. Guess this one's for me __specifically."_

As Bolt stood, he felt something in his pocket. He reached inside, pulling out his old Kukris. Bolt's eyes widened as he looked at the knife. This is what he needs to beat Marrow's semblance.

_"Holy shit! If I could time it correctly and throw this before Marrow freezes me... I should be able to get out of it."_ Bolt smirked as he held the knife, ready to combat the two Atlas elites. _"It should dematerialize my body, and turn it into lightning. Hopefully his semblance doesn't work on anything."_

Harriet moved first, charging Bolt, zipping around the battlefield to try and confuse him. Bolt easily saw through it, dodging her attacks. Bolt found an opening and kicked the girl back to Marrow, who continued to fire at Bolt. Bolt used his semblance to side-step the bullets, slowly making his way to the two. Marrow stopped firing, changing his weapon's form. He threw the weapon soon after, which caused Bolt to duck under it.

"I think you missed!" Bolt called out before he went to move. Before he could, he dodged something coming from behind. Marrow's weapon returned to him, exactly like a boomerang. "Huh, that's new."

Bolt gripped onto his knife as he charged at the two with his semblance, faster than what he started with. As he did so, he saw Marrow raise his hand, causing him to smirk. Bolt tossed the knife up weakly in the air, guaranteeing it's descent to be faster. Harriet ran at Bolt, who didn't exactly care. He knew how to take her down, and wasn't worried. He easily moved out of her way, causing her to skid to a stop. Bolt ran straight for Marrow, confident that his plan would work. So when Marrow froze him, he kept his smirk.

"What're you smiling for? You're being arrested." Marrow asked, confused at Bolt's smirk.

"Well, first of all... If you ever "arrest" me, it'll be because I let you. Second, I'm having fun. And third..." Bolt closed his eyes as he focused, listening for the sound of the knife hitting the ground. "I figured it out!"

Suddenly, Bolt vanished from his frozen spot appeared a few feet away, a trail of lightning behind him. Marrow was dumbfounded, completely speechless. Bolt causally picked up the Kukris, as he watched Marrow's face.

"I think I'm ready to finish this now." Bolt shrugged, chuckling as he slightly turned. He causally ducked under Harriet's attack, grabbing onto her arm. He tossed her back over to Marrow, who caught her.

Bolt's eyes sparked as he prepared to continue attacking. Before he could, he heard someone attempting to attack him from above. He quickly used his semblance to move out of the way, saving himself from whatever that was. The attacker created a dust cloud from the impact, blocking Bolt's vision of the Atlas elites. Before Bolt knew what happened, yellow arms latched onto his arms and legs, holding him in place. The arms seemed to be made completely out of aura.

Bolt didn't have time to figure out what it was when he was suddenly slammed in the stomach, launching across the road. Bolt went tumbling before he caught himself. He looked up to see two more people, causing him to groan. They both had the same uniform on as the others, but one had very pale skin and the other was very tall and had a giant hammer in her arms.

_"That's what I was hit with?"_

Bolt ran back to his original spot, being a few feet away from the opposing group. Bolt had a stared down with them, all waiting on the other to move. Bolt was starting to get tired of waiting, which he could tell that Harriet felt the same. Before anyone could move, a door was flung open. Bolt looked over to see Sierra, holding what looked like his pistols.

"Bolt, I... Oh." Sierra looked over to see the Ace-Ops staring at her. "It seems that you've made friends?"

"Not really, but sure." Bolt said, waving her off. "Get back inside. These guys aren't playing around."

"Oh! Well, I guess this is the best time to test them out." Sierra said, mostly to herself.

"What are you-" Bolt was cut off as he caught what Sierra threw at him. "Woah! These are-"

"You're pistols, yes." Sierra confirmed, giving Bolt time to look at them before explaining.

Bolt noticed one big difference with his twins pistols, besides the fact that they were heavier. They had some kind of stock on the grip, which had a connected metal bar on it. He also noticed a smaller second trigger, just above the first.

"I gave your pistols two new modes. Automatic and shotgun." Sierra informed. "If it isn't obvious, automatic allows them to fire as you hold the trigger down. And if you hit the second trigger, you'll see what shotgun mode does."

Bolt smiled as he hit the second triggers on both pistols, causing the stocks on the grips to fold back towards him. They then flipped over, facing toward the sky. The metal bar seemed to extend out towards him, making the pistols feel lighter. A barrel extended out from both guns, and Bolt noticed that they looked like 12 gauge barrels. Bolt fired one shot into the air, seeing that his pistols hadn't fired out any bullets, which seemed familiar to Bolt. Bolt's eyes widened as he connected the dots.

_"Huh, that's something. This is gonna be fun."_ Bolt nodded to himself as he looked back to Sierra. "Thanks Doc, but I need you to hurry with the weapons. I don't know how long I can deal before I actually start trying."

"Right!" Sierra nodded as she ran back inside, with Bolt turning his attention back to the group in front of him.

"Alright! Let's do this!" He smiled as he faced the Ace-Ops, pistols aimed at the group.

Harriet ran at Bolt, who countered by shooting his pistol at the ground while leaning forward. The action caused Bolt to be propelled up, and over Harriet as he swiped at the now empty spot. Bolt landed on the ground, heading straight towards Marrow and the others. The tall woman got in his way, hammer in hand. Bolt's eyes sparked as he ran faster, ready to challenge her. What surprised Bolt, was the fact that green roots sprouted from the woman's feet and planted themselves into the ground.

Bolt continued forward, though, gaining momentum. The woman swung her hammer, timing it just right. Bolt was barely able to slide under it. He jumped up once he was safe, aiming his guns at Marrow. Before he was able to fire, he felt something grab his foot. He looked down to see the same yellow aura hands the latched onto him before. Bolt was then dragged back down to the ground.

Bolt quickly stood back up, seeing that he was now surrounded by the elite team. _"Guess this is gonna be harder than I thought. I won't have enough time to take them all out, if they call for back up. I need to stall long enough for Sierra to finish the weapons."_

_"__Time to test out the next function, then." _Bolt tapped the second trigger, causing the stock to return to it's original place. He smirked as he scanned the people around him. "What do you get when you mix flowers and guns?"

His smirked widened as he got confused looks from the Atlas elites. "You get a death blossom!"

Bolt used his semblance, spinning around as he fired his pistols, turning himself into a spinning top. He held the triggers down, enabling automatic mode. The Ace-Ops either put up their guard, letting their aura take the hit, or moved out of the way. The move pushed the elite group back, giving Bolt space. Bolt stopped spinning to see what he caused. He looked around to see that the Ace-Ops had backed off, waiting for him to finish before attacking.

When he did stop, Harriet was the first to attack. Bolt easily dodged her attack, kicking her in return. The two newest fighters to join the fight ran towards Bolt with the confidence of strategy written all over them. Bolt quickly switched one pistol to shotgun mode, while leaving the other as normal. The tall woman swung her hammer, faster than Bolt was expecting. Bolt was able to avoid it, though, having to vaulted over it while also throwing his kukris in the air.

Bolt waited for the yellow glow of arms launching towards him to fire the pistol that was in shotgun mode. The attack didn't do much, but that's not what Bolt wanted. The force of the shot had propelled Bolt backwards, and away from aura arms. Bolt landed on the ground to see Harriet running at him and Marrow running around him while firing bullets at him. He dodged the bullets and parried attacks from Harriet, which he found way too easy. He quickly turned around, ignoring Harriet. Marrow was about to use his semblance to freeze Bolt in place. Luckily, Bolt's kukris landed just before he could. Bolt's eyes sparked as he responded to the knife, appearing in it's location, just behind Marrow. Just before Bolt could attack Marrow, he was pulled out of the way of Bolt's kick. Bolt looked confused as Marrow was dropped a few feet away from him. Bolt got an idea of what happened as the last member jumped down from the roof.

He had the same outfit as the others, but with a rabbits foot, a horseshoe, and a four-leaf clover on him. All the signs of luck. "Who're you?"

"Clover, leader of the Ace-Ops." He said causally, hand on his hip. "And if you were wondering, that's Vine and Elm."

He pointed over to the extremely pale man, and the tall woman with the hammer. "I wasn't. Good to know, though."

Before anything else could happen, Sierra came bursting out of the door, holding, what looked like Bolt's sword in her hands, as she struggled with the bags of the team's weapons. "I'm finished! Well...except for Aaron's. Never mind that, here!"

Sierra tossed Bolt's sword to him, who caught it with one hand. Nothing was too different about it, except that it looked like it had a closed spring connecting the blade to the hilt. There was also a strange pouch on the grip, which also confused Bolt. "Hey, um... what's this-"

"No time to explain! We need to leave." Sierra said. struggling to move the large bag of weapons.

Bolt sighed as sheathed his sword and holstered his pistols. He picked up the back with ease, looking at the Atlas team in front of him. "We'll continue this sometime?"

Clover said nothing as he turned back to his team, with Harriet complaining. Bolt smirked, taunting the girl with a wave, as he grabbed Sierra by the hand and ran back towards the hover-cycle with his semblance. Once at the cycle, the two hopped on, and took off at full speed. As Bolt was driving, Sierra pulled out a weapon from the bag and started welding, surprising Bolt greatly as the sparks scattered around like crazy.

"You're working on it while I'm driving?!" Bolt questioned in shock as he went to slow down. "Are you crazy?! You could fall off!"

"I know I know! I only need to do one thing." Sierra said, her tongue just poking out of her mouth, as she was welded two pieces together. "Keep driving. We'll never make it back before dark if you wait for me."

Bolt rolled his eyes with a groan as he continued forward. "What are you finishing up anyways?"

"Aaron's sword." She answered simply.

"What's so difficult about Aaron's sword?" Bolt questioned as they went from frozen tundra and lakes, to grasslands.

"Well, changing it is a difficult process-"

"Wait. He's getting a new sword?!" Bolt asked, shocked and angry that Aaron, of all people, was getting a completely new weapon rather than a simple upgrade.

"Not what I said at all." Sierra chuckled at Bolt's jealously. "I just thought that his katana didn't really fit the kind of fighter he is, so I'm changing it. He also said that it was having trouble switching to scythe form, so I'm changed that, too."

"That's still the same thing." Bolt mumbled to himself, Sierra now laughing at his jealously.

* * *

**Similar to Yang's Ember Celica, Bolt's pistols, in shotgun mode, fire pulses of kinetic energy, with no solid projectiles. This allows Bolt to be able to knock opponents back far distances, or launch himself in a direction of his choosing.**

**Bolt's Kukris is a special knife. It works in a similar matter to the warping in Final Fantasy 15 when Noctis warps when throwing a weapon. Bolt throws the knife, and he can feels a separate piece of his lightning, from his semblance, in the knife. Bolt feels for the missing piece of lightning, and reconnects with it, which causes his body to move towards it, making it seem like he warped to it. It basically replaces Bolt's body from the place he was in, with a lightning trail tailing behind him.**

**When he's in the middle of a fight and wants to use the Kukris, he listens for the clinging of the metal blade hitting the ground and warps to it. **

**Aaron's new weapon will be tested in the next chapter, or at least what Sierra changed it to is, the new form is an emergency only type of thing.**

**Coming up: One Step Closer**


	15. One Step Closer

**Setting: Desert**

In the middle of Vacuo's large, and seamlessly endless desert, three men were running. They had looks of horror and shock on their faces as they ran across the desert, sweat beating down their faces. They appeared to be running from something, to something. They tripped and fell as they made their way towards a city hidden in the sand. They looked back several times, seeing if what they were being chased by was close. Each time they looked, it was nowhere close, which gave them relief. That relief was repeatedly stripped from them each time they heard it. They slid down a sand hill, making their way to the hidden, and abandoned city.

However, on top of the sand hill, the thing chasing them watched as they ran. The thing was a person, and he was smiling as the three men ran for their lives. "Come on! At least let me test out my new sword!"

The person chasing them was Aaron Neon, his new broadsword in hand, and a smile on his face. Behind him, three other people walked up to him. "You know we're following them to their base, right?"

Aaron turned to his three teammates, with a knowing look and a shrug. "Yeah yeah, I know. I mean, we're going to engage them eventually, so there's no harm in threatening them."

"Not really." Mystic sighed.

"Well, there it is." Bolt said, everyone following his gaze to see the abandoned city in front of them.

From the report on the job request, this city was called Acton. It was home to whoever wandered upon the hidden city, who were mainly bandits, thieves, and everything in between. Team AMBR were tasked with clearing out the abandoned city for Agradian Councilwoman, Iolanthe, so that she could expand Agradia past a secret kingdom. The four watched as the three men they were tailing disappeared into the large abandoned city, knowing exactly where they were going.

Acton had been abandoned for many years, which was shown by most of the buildings being covered in sand. As the four walked towards the city, Bolt pictured what it looked like before. Assuming were the buildings used to be, Bolt imagined this place as a beautiful paradise. The four walked towards the entrance, stopping as they came to a problem. There were four different ways to go, and they all looked man-made. The walls separating the paths were made from different materials. From bricks, to wood, to metal. The main problem, was that no one knew which way to go.

"Well, there's four paths, and four of us." Aaron said aloud, looking towards the two middle pathways. "I call first middle!"

Before anyone could protest, Aaron was already halfway down the first middle path. Rae and Bolt groaned simultaneously, while Mystic walked up to the path on the left. "I guess I'll take this one."

"I'll take the right." Rae stated, walking up to her path.

"And I'll take the second middle." Bolt said, standing in front of his. "Remember, we don't know this place or who else is here. Watch your backs and don't underestimate anyone you come across."

"Right." The three then headed their separate ways, ready to combat what ever came at them.

Aaron walked down the pathway, sword on his shoulder, and a smile on his face. He was happy to take a break from hunting down Cinder, and fight an easy battle. He eventually came across a intersection, seeing three more long pathways. This place was starting to remind him to the Labyrinth, and he was hating it more. He picked the right path, groaning as he dragged his sword across the ground.

As Aaron was walking, he felt something watching him. He knew that this places was filled with thieves and bandits, but he didn't think they were cowards. Aaron continued forward, acting like he didn't notice that anyone was around. Whoever was watching him wasn't silent about watching him at all. Aaron could hear the person walking somewhere around him. So, Aaron wasn't surprised when someone attacked him.

Aaron jumped out of the way of a strike, watching the dust clear to reveal who attacked him. Aaron saw a man in black armor with gold lining, and a pink sash across the chest piece. He also wore gray gauntlets with a similar colored armored breeches with red lining. Aaron could also see an average sized sword in his hands, which is what he assumed the man attacked him with.

The man stood and turned to Aaron, giving him a better look at the man. The man had blonde hair and blood red eyes. He also looked tired and insane. Aaron noticed that the man's armor had a hole in it, similar to a sword stab. Aaron sighed, thinking this guy was just some insane bandit looking for a fight. That was, until Aaron saw the White Fang symbol on his sash. Aaron's demeanor didn't change, though. He wasn't worried at all.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Aaron asked, despite the fact that he didn't care.

"You don't know me?! How could you not know me?!" The man yelled, glaring at Aaron as he aimed his sword at him, clearly deranged. "I am the great Saturn of the White Fang!"

"Saturn, huh? Never heard of you." Aaron said with a confused look. "And isn't the White Fang over, or something?"

"What are you talking about?! The White Fang will never fall! I will lead them to victory!" Saturn roared as he charged Aaron. "I will have my revenge!"

"What?"

Aaron jumped back, dodging Saturn's attack. He had no clue what was wrong with this guy, but he wasn't going to say no to a challenge. Aaron gripped his sword, running at Saturn. Saturn roared, a twisted look on his face as he ran at Aaron. Aaron swung his sword, Saturn doing the same. The two blades clashed, creating sparks. Aaron sweeped Saturn's feet from underneath him, causing him to fall. Before Aaron could capitalize, Saturn flipped back up, kicking Aaron in the chest.

Aaron recovered just in time to clash with Saturn, saving him from a very dangerous cut. Saturn threw a punch at Aaron, who caught it with ease. Aaron held back Saturn's sword and his fist. He was surprised that this guy was this strong. He was also surprised when he was being push into a kneeling position. Aaron eyes were wide, greatly confused. Aaron could physically see Saturn's muscles grow as his pure strength created a crater underneath Aaron's feet.

"I'll kill you!" Saturn laughed psychotically, throwing Aaron into the wall next to them.

_"Why do I get the crazy_ ones?" Aaron questioned to himself as he stood up.

In another part of the city, Mystic was walking down her chosen path. She had her newly upgraded bow in her hands, ready to fight at anytime. She was surprised no one had attacked her yet. She thought that this place was overfilled with bandits. She heard many small sounds, that would better fit a small animal than someone following her. Mystic continued forward, coming across a group of people in an intersection.

They group turned and looked at Mystic. They looked a lot like pirates, with red and brown waistcoats, with gold buttons, and large cutlass on their waists. The men looked at Mystic with very disturbing looks, and they were starting to freak her out.

"Well look at this, boys. We've bagged ourselves a Faunus." One man said, causing the whole group to chuckle. "Get her."

The men unsheathed their swords, charging at Mystic. Mystic acted fast, creating a portal under herself, dodging a sword swing in the process. The group of bandits looked around in confusion while Mystic reappeared in the air. She aimed at the group, firing a Fire Dust arrow down at them. The arrow exploded on impact with the ground, sending the closest bandits flying in all directions. Mystic landed on the ground, hearing someone running up behind her. Mystic countered the slash of a sword with the new blades on her bow.

She pushed the bandit off, kicking him in the chest. Mystic turned, firing an Ice Dust arrow at three bandits behind her. The arrow activated, trapping the bandits in ice. Mystic dodged another sword swipe, countering by tripping the bandit. Mystic ran at another bandit, jumping off his chest and in the air. Mystic loaded up a Gravity Dust arrow as she flipped, firing it at the man's chest. He soon went flying up, disappearing into the clouds.

Mystic turned at the sound of a stampede. She assumed it was Grimm, which shocked her greatly. Thankfully, it was just more bandits. Unfortunately, it was a lot more bandits. Some had swords, while others had pistols. There were way too many for Mystic to deal with alone. So, she jumped up onto the wall and ran down the path, with the bandits right behind her. Mystic fired arrows at them, dodging their return fire as she ran across the wall.

Rae walked down her path, hearing the chaos of her teammates fighting. For once in her time of knowing the others, she was jealous. On her path, there was absolutely no one, expect herself. She normally wouldn't go looking for fights, like some of her team mates, but she was today. She had a very aggravating dream last night, and she wanted to take out her frustration on the bandits in the city, but that wasn't going to be the case. Rae continued down her path, not a soul in sight. She wondered how she ran into no one in a city full of criminals.

She braced herself as the wall in front of her exploded, sending debris everywhere. Rae looked up to see Aaron laying on the floor, slowly getting up. She also saw a man in black armor, his muscles bulging out of it. crawling through the hole in the wall. Rae immediately ran to Aaron's side, helping him stand.

"You okay?" Rae asked, replenishing Aaron's aura.

"Yeah, I'm just dealing with a psycho." Aaron responded, glaring at Saturn. "Might need help."

"Right."

The two charged at Saturn, who laughed in response.

Somewhere near the middle of the city, Bolt was combating hordes of bandits, all of which knew exactly who he was. Bolt's path quickly became flooded with unconscious bandits and thieves, all trying to grab Bolt's bounty for themselves, as he easily took them down. Bolt punched a bandit in the face, turning to kick another in the chest. Bolt pulled out his pistols, firing at the bandits. Bolt got some of the bandits, but more flooded in.

Bolt dodged a swipe of a sword from behind, tripping the bandit responsible. Bolt turned, firing at two bandits, taking down those two as blocked sword strikes with his pistols. Bolt jumped back, giving him some pace from the two swordsmen. Bolt barely dodged a sword swipe from behind. He kicked the man in the chest, sending him back. Bolt used his semblance to avoid another attack, appearing behind two bandits. The two men were too late to attack Bolt as he punched the both in the face.

Bolt quickly dodged a sword swipe, which was followed up by many more. Bolt easily dodged the sword strikes, grabbing onto the woman who attacked him, throwing her into the wall behind him. Bolt switched his pistols into Shotgun mode, firing on the bandits coming in close. The shots caused some bandits to dodge and maneuver, while others were shot and launched back. Bolt fired a shot at the ground, launching himself up as he shifted his pistols back to normal and landed on the wall.

The bandits with guns fired at Bolt as he stood on the wall. Bolt fired back, bullets colliding with bullets. Bolt used his semblance to move out of the way, confusing the bandits below. Bolt ran across the battlefield swiftly taking down a majority of the bandits, leaving the rest in shock. The rest of the bandits got over their shock, unsheathing their swords and charging at Bolt.

Bolt pulled out his kukris, blocking and parrying the sword strikes easily. Bolt kicked the first swordsmen back, throwing the knife passed him. Bolt connected with the knife, teleporting to it. Bolt punched the bandit into the ground, looking up to see the rest running at him. Bolt groaned, annoyed at how many bandits there still were. He pulled out his sword, ready to get this pointless fight.

Bolt charged the bandits in the blink of an eye. Bolt slashed the first two bandits, taking them down swiftly. Bolt jumped up and kicked another bandit in the chest, sending them back into the walls. Bolt used his semblance to quickly take out the rest, eventually standing in the middle of the now unconscious hordes of bandits. Bolt looked at one bandit, who was trying to escape, but ignored him.

"Well, that was fun." Bolt said as he sheathed his sword, looking back at the bandit trying to escape. "Where do you think you're going?"

Bolt grabbed the bandit by the collar, throwing him into the wall. The boy looked into the man's eyes, sending fear into his heart. Bolt gripped the man's shirt tightly, raising him up on the wall. "What do you know about a woman in a red dress? Wears an eye patch?"

"Woman in a red dress? You mean the ghost of that abandoned town, Rosemary?" The man questioned.

"Ghost of Rosemary?" Bolt questioned, confused at the man's words.

"Never heard of her? You're a lucky one." The man said, starting to relax.

Bolt slammed the man into the wall, bringing the man's fear back. "Explain."

"W-Well, there's a town west of here, but the town's even more abandoned then this place." The man stuttered. "They say that people who go there never come out, that it's haunted by a would in crimson, with fire in her eyes."

_"That sounds like Cinder."_ Bolt smiled, punching the man in the face, and knocking him out cold. "That's for the info."

Bolt continued down the path, planning on waiting for the others at the middle of the city. Whilst he was walking, there was something behind him. Almost following him, and keeping their distance.

Meanwhile, Aaron and Rae were fighting Saturn, and were losing badly. Saturn would throw Aaron against everything as they fought, with Aaron taking massive blows to his aura. Rae's attacks were useless, as Saturn's body became mire durable as the fight went on. Saturn wiped around as Rae pelted his body with bullets. Saturn grabbed onto his sword, the gem it's hilt changing color. Saturn slammed his sword on the ground, pulling the trigger on the hilt. The ground started to break apart, with a red glow appearing in the cracks. Rae quickly moved out of the way before the ground exploded, but the explosion was too large and Rae was sent tumbling.

Aaron pulled himself out of the wall he was thrown into, glaring at Saturn. He picked his sword up, preparing to attack the man. Rae stood up on the other side of the man, shifting her guns into sticks. Saturn looked at them both, laughing at how hard they're trying to defeat him.

"See! I told you you can't beat me!" Saturn roared.

"Oh yeah?!" Aaron sheathed his sword and activated his semblance, causing his body to be cloaked in fire. "I'll beat you face in, asshole!"

"Ha! That's a good jo-" Saturn stopped himself as he looked over towards Rae, or over Rae.

The green haired girl turned, looking down a path connected to the clearing. She couldn't see anything at first, confused at what Saturn was seeing. As she looked, she could see something coming at them. That something soon to turned into someone as Rae saw a image of a person running towards them. Behind that person was a small group of other people. As the first person jumped up, turning to look back at the others with a bow in hand, Rae knew who it was.

Soon, an explosion erupted from the path, the person coming out of the smoke. perfectly find. That person was Mystic, who finally defeated the large horde on her tail. The Faunus looked up, seeing Rae looking back at her.

"Rae!" Mystic said happily, running up to Rae. "I finally found someone, but I guess I don't need help anymore."

"Mystic... hey." Rae said, surprised at how calm Mystic was.

"What's going on-" Mystic cut herself off with a gasp, seeing Saturn staring her. Her eyes went straight to the White Fang symbol on his sash, putting fear into her heart. "S-Saturn?"

"Saturn? Wait, you know this guy?" Rae asked, looking at Mystic's pale face.

"He's a part of the White Fang. He's Adam's pupil." Mystic responded, not taking her eyes off of Saturn.

"Saturn...? White Fang...? Wait... This is the guy Bolt fought?!" Rae questioned in shock. "That can't be right. Bolt said he took care of him. How can he be-"

"Bastard!" Aaron's yell cut Rae off as he swung his fire cloaked fist down at Saturn, who easily blocked it.

"That won't work!" Saturn said manically as he threw Aaron towards Rae and Mystic.

"Dammit!" Aaron cursed, as he pulled himself up to his feet, punching his fist together, generating heat in the clearing. "Can you two help me!"

"I...I." Mystic was lost for words.

"Aaron, we have to find Bolt." Rae said, causing Aaron to look back at her.

"What?! Why?! I can handle this with him!" Aaron countered.

"That's Saturn, of the White Fang. Adam's Pupil." Aaron looked at Rae confused. "The guy Bolt fought, and barely won against."

Aaron's eyes widened for a second, before fixing his face, cloaking his body in fire. "That doesn't matter! I can handle this asshole!"

Saturn laughed as he looked at Aaron stand against him. Saturn's laughing started angering Rae. She hated how he was laughing at them. She stood next to Aaron, ecrisma sticks in hand. Aaron smiled, ready for a fight. Mystic also walked up next to Aaron, bow in hand. Aaron could see the determination in her eyes, which made him smile even brighter.

"Alright, asshole! Prepare to get your shit rocked!"

* * *

**Coming up: Cornered **


	16. Cornered

**Setting: Acton**

Bolt arrived in the middle of the city, with no sign to of the others. He waited on a very old table, and was surprised that it hadn't broken apart as he sat on it. Bolt sighed as he waited, putting his hands in his pockets, finding something inside. Bolt pulled out his earbuds, along with his Scroll. He put his earbuds in, connecting them to his Scroll. He hummed to the song that played, noticing footsteps walking toward him. He looked over, seeing two Atlesian Knights walking up to him. Bolt didn't react as the two took a few steps away from each other, one placing a device in between them. Bolt stood up as the device on the floor displayed a hologram of a person. A person Bolt knew very well. The hologram displayed Winter Schnee, who looked very tired and angry.

"Well, this is a surprise." Bolt said sarcastically, taking out his earbuds.

"Don't. I don't have time for you to be... you." Winter groaned, causing Bolt to chuckle.

"Okay, then what the hell are you here for?" Bolt questioned seriously, crossing his arms. "You're not trying to arrest me, are you?"

"No. Not today." Winter said, standing tall, hands behind her back. "I have requested this talk for another reason: To inform you about Ironwood's plan to-"

"Why do you think I care about his plans?" Bolt said as he started to walk away and back to the table. "I have things of my own stuff to deal with, and it has nothing to do with Ironwood."

"-To tell the world about Salem." Winter finished, causing Bolt to stop.

"What?" Bolt said, turning back towards Winter. "You know? Wait! You know about her and you're letting him tell the world?!"

"Yes. If we can unite Remnant, we can beat Salem together." Winter said, confidently, shocking Bolt.

_"She doesn't know...?"_ Bolt thought to himself, sighing and rolling his eyes. "Well, have fun."

"That's your reaction?" Winter questioned, eyebrows raising in interest. "You know how much of a threat Salem is, and your reaction is "have fun."?"

"Yeah, I don't care about what he's doing, or how he's going to defeat her. It won't matter anyways. If I don't stop the future, and get the targets off my back, everything as you know it will fall and you're efforts will be for nothing." Bolt said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he continued walking back to the table.

"What are you talking about?" Bolt stopped and turned, once again, groaning.

"Look, I have a lot of shit on my plate and if I don't fix it, the world's gonna end." Bolt said, looking at Winter straight in the eyes. "So, yeah, I don't care what you're doing to stop her. The only thing I care about, that involves Atlas, is that my friends are there, risking they're lives for an idiot who always thinks he's right and who doesn't know the full truth."

"Full truth? What do you mean? Explain." Winter demanded, intrigued at Bolt words.

"That doesn't matter." Bolt said, looking away from Winter. "What matters, is that if any of my sisters get hurt because of Ironwood's dumb decisions, I'll come for you all."

Before Winter could reply, the sound of an explosion could be heard. Bolt looked over to see a pillar of fire, large enough to tower over the walls of Acton. Bolt groaned as he face-palmed. "What is it?"

"Just my pyromaniatic leader." Bolt said, looking back to Winter. "I need to go. Remember what I said-"

Bolt cut himself off as the sound of a gunshot was heard. Winter's eyes widened as Bolt's head was cocked to the side, annoyance and anger written across his face. Bolt looked down, seeing a bullet hole in the ground. Her eyes widened as she understood what he was implying.

"It's not what it looks like." Winter said defensively, slight fear on her face. "I didn't-"

"I know." Bolt said, looking back where the bullet came from. "Someone's watching me, but I'll handle it later."

"Someone's watching you? That's-" Winter's hologram was cut off as the robotic knights fell to the ground in pieces.

Bolt sheathed his sword as he looked at the robots, sighing as he took out his Scroll. He sent a quick text to chairwoman, Iolanthe, before using his semblance to run towards the explosion.

Back with the fight with Saturn, Aaron was having a one-on-one fight with Saturn. Rae crawled towards Mystic, clutching her side a she did so. Saturn went on a rampage, sending the three across the area. Saturn's rampage caused Aaron to be enraged, which erupted a tower of fire. Saturn seemed to be unfazed by the fire as he charged and slammed Aaron into a wall, putting him through it. Saturn proceed to move on to the girls, rushing towards them. Rae and Mystic were defenseless against Saturn's speed. He knocked the two around, not letting up, before Aaron recovered enough to step in.

Aaron ran at Saturn, who grabbed him by the throat. Aaron raised his hand at Saturn's face, blasting fire in his face. Saturn let Aaron go, with Aaron kicking him back. Aaron charged at Saturn, hands cloaked in fire. Saturn maniacally laughed, grabbing onto his sword. Aaron threw fire balls at Saturn, who dodged them easily. Saturn jumped at Aaron, slamming his sword down. Aaron dodged the attack, causing the ground to break up at Saturn's attack. Aaron looked over, seeing his sword laying on the floor. Aaron jumped back, dodging another swipe of Saturn's sword, giving him the chance to grab his. Aaron ran towards his sword, using his semblance to boost himself to get there faster.

Before Aaron could reach his sword, he was met with an arm to the face, betting close-lined by the faunus. Aaron tumbled into the wall, looking up to see Saturn laughing at him.

"Oh? Looking for your weapon I see. Foolish mistake." Saturn laughed maniacally, walking towards Aaron.

Saturn raised his sword, ready to slam it down on Aaron. Aaron looked past Saturn, seeing his sword disappear as dust kicked up. "Now die!"

Saturn swung his sword down, only to have it be blocked by two swords. Saturn looked in confusion and anger, while Aaron looked in annoyance. In between Aaron and Saturn was Bolt, who held both his sword and Aaron's and used them to hold Saturn back.

"What did I miss?" Bolt asked, kicking Saturn back.

"Bout time you joined us." Aaron said, standing up as Bolt turned to him. "Where the hell were you?"

"I was at the center, waiting for you guys. Guess you had other plans." Bolt responded, throwing Aaron his sword. "Now, what are we dealing with?"

Bolt's eyes widened as he turned back, staring at Saturn. Saturn's face changed from psychotic to anger as he laid eyes on Bolt. "Saturn?!"

"Wait. You know this guy?" Aaron questioned, confused at how Bolt knew him.

"Yeah. That's the guy I killed in Mistral." Bolt said in confusion, causing Aaron's eyebrows to raise.

"That doesn't make sense. How is he alive then?" Aaron asked, earning a face palm from Bolt.

"I don't know, dumbass. Just help the girls. I'll keep him busy until Iolanthe comes with backup." Bolt said, walking up to Saturn as Aaron ran over to Rae and Mystic.

"Bolt Rai!" Saturn yelled as Bolt walked up. "So you finally show yourself!"

"How the hell are you back? I stabbed you with your own sword." Bolt asked, head tilting in confusion.

"I'm a survivor! You can't kill an elite. But, that doesn't matter! I'm back, and you're dead!" Saturn yelled, running at Bolt, sword in hand.

Bolt moved out of the way, causing Saturn to create a small crater in the ground. Bolt ran in, slashing at Saturn's body. Saturn's armor and aura protected him from most of the attack, but it still pissed him off. Saturn swung at Bolt, launching a slash of fire at him. Bolt dodged the attack, jumping over the sword and kicking Saturn in the face. Saturn retaliated by slamming his sword on the ground, causing it to break up with cracks of lava seeping out. The ground exploded, the force launching Bolt back.

Bolt recovered, only to dodge another attack from Saturn. Saturn swung his sword as it was full of wind Dust, sending a gust of wind at Bolt. Bolt put his arms up in defense, standing his ground against the gust of wind. As the gust faded, Bolt was punched by Saturn, sending him back into the wall. Bolt stood back up, seeing Saturn running towards him with his sword aimed for his head. Before Bolt could react, Saturn was sent over Bolt and the wall. Bolt looked at the cause, seeing Mystic with her bow in hand.

Bolt ran towards the others. "Everyone okay?"

"They should be fine, their auras took most of the damage. They just some bruises, should be healed up after a night of rest." Aaron responded as he and Rae helped Mystic lean against the wall for support. "What're we gonna do?"

"We're gonna wait for Iolanthe to come. She can take Saturn to Atlas. They can keep him imprisoned." Bolt said, turning back to face Saturn. "Can you guys fight?"

"Yes." Rae said with determination, grabbing a hold of her weapons. "Yes. I can."

"Me too." Mystic said with a nod, setting an arrow on her bow. "Let's take him down."

"Hell yeah!" Aaron agreed excitedly. "I wanna settle the score!"

The four looked to the sound of an explosion, seeing Saturn burst through the wall. Saturn roared as he seemed to get taller and larger. Saturn ran at them, but none of them hesitated. "Alright. Bolt and Rae. **Leapfrog**! Go!"

Bolt and Rae nodded to each other, running at Saturn head on. Aaron looked to Mystic, a fire ball in his hands. "When they're done, we use **Tri Attack** on Saturn."

"Right." Mystic replied, loading up lightning and ice Dust arrows on her bow string.

Bolt and Rae charged Saturn, with Bolt in front. Bolt unsheathed his sword as Rae shifted her weapons into sticks. Saturn swung his sword wildly, not caring for strategy. Bolt skidded to a stop, bending down. Saturn was confused by this action, but took it as a sign of surrender. Before Saturn had a chance to do anything, Rae jumped off of Bolt's back and kicked Saturn in the face. Saturn tumbled backward as Rae landed on the ground, rolling into a standing position. Rae used her sticks to beat down on Saturn, using the taser to shock Saturn as well. Saturn was beat backward, causing him to stumble back towards the wall. Rae swung her sticks one last time, slamming them against Saturn's head.

Rae skidded to a stop, similar to Bolt. Rae bent down, allowing Bolt to jump over her while slashing Saturn across the chest. Bolt rolled on the ground, kicking Saturn as he flipped up onto his feet. Like Rae, Bolt repeatedly slashed at Saturn with his sword, the latter's aura flickering as the former attacked. Bolt finished his attacks with a kick to the chest, sending Saturn into the wall, ending **Leapfrog**.

"Guys, move!" Aaron yelled. Bolt and Rae turned to Aaron, seeing the large fire ball in his hands.

"What the hell are you gonna do?" Rae asked, not liking Aaron's idea.

"Just move." Aaron shooed them to the side. They could see in his face that he really wanted to do whatever he wanted to do. Bolt and Rae quickly moved, giving Aaron a large smile. "Alright, Mystic! **Tri Attack** go!"

Aaron threw his fire ball as Mystic fired her arrows. The three attacks hit Saturn dead on, earning a cheer from Aaron. The ice encased Saturn's left side in ice while the lightning and fire exploded as they made contact on Saturn's body. The four waited as the dust cleared, hoping that Saturn was down. Bolt walked toward the wall, sword in hand, checking to see if the fight was over. Bolt sighed as he got close enough, seeing that Saturn was laid out on the ground, unconscious and body back to normal.

Bolt stepped away from Saturn, turning back to the others. "It's over. He's down."

"Just in time, too." Mystic said, pointing towards the sky.

The others looked up to see three Bullheads flying towards the city, slowly landing outside of the Acton's man-made walls. They began their walk out of the city, taking Bolt's path back to the entrance. The others saw all the unconscious bandits laid out on the floor, all shocked at the amount that filled the pathway. After getting past the sea of unconscious bandits, they walked out of the city, seeing a large group of Agradian soldiers gearing up outside of two of the Bullheads. Near one of the Bullheads, the soldiers were talking to a tall woman, who had purple hair and a dark purple trench coat. She also wore a gray uniform underneath the coat, that looked similar to an Atlas uniform, and black boots. The group of soldiers ran past AMBR, weapons in hand.

"Ah, Team AMBR." The woman said as she walked up to the four. "Thank you for clearing the city out. This will help expand Agradia's territory for the better."

"No problem, Iolanthe." Bolt said, hands finding his pockets. "Aureolin's going to love having a city to herself."

"Yes. Yes, she will. Hopefully, Queen Autumn, Platinum, and I can keep her in line." Iolanthe agreed, with a chuckle. "Now, I will get the city cleared out. You guys rest up, and thank you once again."

Iolanthe walked past AMBR, and into the city, with a few guards to her side. Bolt sighed as stretched, looking towards the third Bullhead, already knowing that it was their ride home. He was already tired from today's events, and the girls needed to get some rest. Aaron followed soon after, yawning as he slowly got tired. Rae looked towards Mystic, who was swaying side-to-side while holding her head. She knew that Mystic was more injured then she was, having saw her aura deplete as Saturn went after them.

"We should get home." Rae suggested, knowing everyone would agree.

"Yeah, Iolanthe should be able to handle Saturn. I'll tell her to take him to Atlas later." Bolt said, agreeing with Rae. "That third Bullhead should be our ride home."

"Yes! I need some sleep." Aaron agreed as Mystic silently agreed.

"Alright, let's go." Rae said, leading the way to their Bullhead.

**Setting: Team AMBR's Bullhead**

It had been at least an hour since Team AMBR got on their Bullhead ride home. Bolt was sitting down, looking out the window with his earbuds in. Aaron was on the other side of him, laid out on the seats, fast asleep. Bolt watched the sights change from a sand to water. Bolt was surprised that they were already so close to home. Bolt decided to check on the girls, standing up as he put his earbuds away. He looked over, seeing Aaron still sprawled out on the chairs. Bolt rolled his eyes as he walked out, opening the door to a hallway. Bolt walked through the hall, opening another door.

Bolt walked through the door and into the cargo bay. Bolt saw Rae, her hand on Mystic's cheek, feeding her aura into her. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She should be once we get back." Rae answered as she finished, laying Mystic down softly. "She tried protecting me while Saturn went on a rampage."

"Sorry I didn't get there sooner. I was dealing with a lot." Bolt leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets.

"I saw." Rae said as she sat down on a cargo box. "How did you deal with all that? There were hundreds."

"Wasn't hard surprisingly. It was just like training with Aaron, just with multiple, dumb, and weak Aarons." Bolt chuckled, soon creating a comfortable silence.

"How long do we have until we're home?" Rae asked, filling the silence as she stood up from Mystic side.

"Couple minutes maybe." Bolt answered, quickly holding onto the door frame as the Bullhead shook. "Or now."

Aaron bursted into the room, grumpiness and anger written all over his face. "The hell is happening? I'm trying to sleep!"

"We're docking, dumbass." Bolt responded, turning towards him as the Bullhead slowly stopped shaking. "Let's go. Today needs to end."

Bolt walked over and pressed a button, opening the cargo bay door. He then went to pick Mystic up, holding her bridal style. He walked out of the cargo bay, with Aaron and Rae following right behind them. They walked through the halls, making their way towards their rooms.

"Blue Jay!" The group stopped and turned, seeing Autumn walking up to them. "Congratulations on capturing Acton."

"Thanks, sis."

"We're gonna go ahead." Aaron yawned, Bolt handing Mystic over to him as they went.

"So, I may have a small favor to ask." Autumn said, a lovable smile on her face.

"Sure, whatever you need sis." Bolt chuckled, too tired to argue.

"Alright." Autumn smiled as she walked away. "Meet me outside the gates in the morning~"

"Yeah, okay. Better not be shopping." Bolt continued his walk towards his room, yawning as he thought about sleeping in his bed.

* * *

**The chairmen and women of Agradia are the people who lead Agradian spies in the other kingdoms for Agradia and Autumn. **

**Iolanthe Pierce leads the secret base located somewhere close to Atlas, and it's called Aeon. Platinum Fasc leads the secret base located near Mistral city, and it's called Thorn. Aureolin Spark leads the secret base near the Kingdom of Vacuo, and it's called ****Solar, which will be located in Acton.**

**Coming up: Sibling Fun**


	17. Sibling Fun

**Setting: Autumn's Airship**

Bolt and Autumn sat in the air ship across from each other, focused on the intense game of checkers. It was more like Autumn was teaching Bolt how to play, while they played. Autumn had two kings, and Bolt was extremely close to losing. The room was silent as the two made moves and tried to predict each other, which Bolt was failing at apparently. It was Autumn's turn, and she immediately went to capture the second to last of Bolt's checkers. Before Autumn could however, Bolt stood.

"That's it. I'm done." Bolt said, stepping away from the table, making Autumn chuckle.

"What, little brother? Is the Lightning Elemental giving up?" Autumn taunted with a smile, causing Bolt to roll his eyes with his arm crossed.

"Haha. Very funny." Bolt said, leaning against a counter. "No. I just rather we play a video game."

"Sure. Whatever you say, little brother." Autumn chuckled, turning in her seat to face Bolt.

"So, where are we going anyways?" Bolt asked, trying to change the subject. "You asked me to help, but you never told me what we're doing."

"I didn't? Silly me." Autumn shrugged, crossing her legs. "I asked you to come with me because I need a personal bodyguard. I mean, the boys outside are wonderful, but you're better skilled."

"I mean, I got that part."

"I know, I just want to be dramatic with the reveal." Autumn responded. "I've been busy lately,"

"Yeah, I've noticed." Bolt said, sitting on top of the counter. "You've been in a lot of meetings."

"And that's because I've been working on an academy for the kingdom." Autumn said, shocking Bolt. "I've got the board's votes, and they agree."

"That's cool, but if you've already got the okay from the board, then what are we doing?" Bolt asked, excited about the academy, but still confused on the mission. "Not that I'm not excited about the academy, but I'm feeling kinda punchy."

"Well, we're going to meet up with Aureolin to go discuss a deal for a combat school to be set up in an allied settlement of Agradia. You know, since it's usually a mandatory thing." Autumn explained, standing up. "I'm going to talk to the head of the city and get their permission to have it built on their land. And you're here to protect me, and them, if anything bad happens."

"Oh, that's simple." Bolt said, hopping off of the counter top. He was happy that Autumn was trying to make Agradia an official kingdom, like the rest. "And least I get to punch something."

The airship slowly came to a stop, landing down softly in front of a forest. The sunlight shined through the airship as the cargo bay doors opened. The two siblings turned to a woman in a suit. She walked from the cockpit, holding Autumn's sword and a bag that held her Valkyries. She bowed as she gave handed Autumn her weapons, with the queen sighing at the formality.

"We have landed, your majesties." The woman said, extending her arms out to Autumn.

"Thank you, but you don't have to call us that." Autumn grabbed her sword and the bag. "We're just the same as you."

"R-Right, sorry!" She stuttered, before going back to the cockpit.

Bolt and Autumn walked off the airship, meeting Autumn's guards at the end of the ramp. They exchanged hellos before leading the monarchs towards their another vehicle. Bolt helped Autumn into the car, before hoping in himself. Two guards climbed into the drivers and passengers seats. Before the two twins knew it, they were moving, hearing the airship and bullheads leaving as they went. The two siblings looked outside their windows, mentally preparing themselves for this meeting.

**Setting: Agradia Training Room**

Aaron walked up towards the middle of the training room, having moved everything that would be in his way for what he was about to do. Once he got to the middle, he cloaked his body is fire. Aaron crossed his arms as his body started to heat up. Aaron held the pose for a while, seeming to charge up his body. The fire in Aaron's eyes glowed brighter as he fully charged himself. His arms shook, the heat stored in his body trying to burst out. But before Aaron could unleash that heat, a voice spoke out, spooking Aaron greatly.

"Hey, Aaron!" Mystic called out as she and Rae walked down the stairway.

"AHH!" Aaron jumped, disrupting him from what he was doing, as he turned to see the two girls walking over. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"Coming to see what you're doing." Rae answered, a smirk on her face from scaring Aaron. "What are you doing anyways?"

"Well, I was trying to come up with a new trick." Aaron said, retaking his stance.

"And that trick is?"

"I'm trying to distribute the heat my fire generates through the area." Aaron said, using his semblance to cloak himself in fire, once again. "If I can push my heat throughout an area-"

"It would slowly overwhelm everyone around, due to the uncomfortable amount of heat, causing them to become tired." Rae eyebrows raised at how smart Aaron's idea was. "Wow. That's actually not a bad idea."

"I know. Not sure if it works on Grimm, but we'll find that out later." Aaron said as he his eyes glowed brighter, a ring of fire appearing around Aaron. "Okay. Here goes."

Aaron threw his arms to his sides, causing the ring around him to expand throughout the whole area. The fire around Aaron's body started to crackle as it flared wildly. Soon, the training room had a red tint to it as the heat rose. Rae unconsciously wiped sweat off her forehead, seeing that Aaron's skill was working. Aaron stood up in a normal stance, his fire still flaring chaotically. Mystic started panting and fanning herself off as the heat grew more and more intense. Both girls were shocked at how quickly room become unbearably hot. Mystic turned as she heard started to drip, meaning it was time to stop him from continuing.

"Okay! Aaron, that's enough." Aaron turned towards the girls, who's faces were dripping in sweat.

"Oh, okay." Aaron said, the fire dissipating from around his body, with the heat in the room slowly returning to normal. "Sorry, might've over did it there."

"Yeah, well," Rae sighed, using her sleeve to wipe off the sweat from her forehead. "Let's hurry before we faint from a heat stroke."

"Where are we going?" Aaron asked, walking over towards his sword and plasma rifle.

"We were asked to head over to the base near Mistral." Rae spoke up, already heading towards the stairs to get out of the stuffy room, with Mystic right behind her. "Platinum asked for help with Grimm."

"I'm sure Platinum and his team can handle a few Grimm." Aaron countered, waving her off as he seemed perfectly fine being in the room.

"Well, it didn't sound like he was handling it when he called." Mystic said, Aaron rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, have fun with that." Aaron said, sword in hand as he pointed it towards the training dummies. "Besides, I need to name my knew skill."

"Platinum said that the main Grimm was strong enough to destroy a vehicle, but I guess you're too busy." Rae said as she walked through the training room doors. Mystic laughed as she followed the green haired tactician, knowing that her statement would gain the pyromaniac's attention.

"I'm coming! Wait for me!" Aaron yelled as he quickly grabbed his weapons and hurried to catch up.

**Setting: Solace**

Bolt and Autumn arrived at their destination, and were shocked at the scenery as the drove past the walls. The settlement was lovely, and looked well built. The homes were made out of brick and wood, some with balconies and chimneys. Most even had gardens in the front yards, with the most beautiful of flowers. The vehicle drove by lots of buildings, starting from normal homes to tall business buildings. Autumn looked over, seeing a large mountain near the settlement, with a waterfall underneath it. Autumn's eyes sparking in excitement. She thought that it would make the perfect spot for this combat school, if this deal went well. Autumn pulled away from her window, looking forward to see a yellow haired woman waiting in front of a large white building. Autumn recognized the woman as the vehicle came to a stop next to her.

Bolt got out of the vehicle, face to face with the bright yellow haired woman. Besides her bright yellow hair, she stuck out like a sore thumb in this settlement. While everyone in the settlement wore normal clothes, like shirts, jackets, pants, etc, Aureolin wore battle armor. Her armor looked similar to a knights, with a yellow primary and silver trims, as well as 2 capes. One cape was pure white one covering the other gray one, which has a large fur lining on the bottom. She had fur padding on her shoulders with its collar connects the two. From what Bolt could tell, despite the looks, the armor was light, with mostly scale style with a metallic short skirt, with layered plating. Her metal gauntlets have a leather cover, going up to her elbows and a large fur lining. Her leggings are also armor, and cover up to her knees, along with another fur lining on her legs. On her back, she had a light blue trident. On the trident's middle blade was a mirror, which allows dust usage.

"Hey, Aureolin." Autumn greeted, walking up to the woman. "Glad you made it on time."

"Hello, Prince Bolt. Lady Autumn." Aureolin greeted with a smile. "They should be ready for the meeting."

"Right. Lead the way." Aureolin nodded, turning to walk around the building.

**Setting: Underground Train Station**

Aureolin lead the two into the forest, where there was a hidden train station buried underneath. The group walked down the stairs into the station. Bolt looked around, confused on why anyone would want to meet in this place. The Metro had many stations, possibly meaning that they could get lost in this place. There were run down trains in many places, which were completely destroyed and unusable. There were also some ruined chairs, which showed that someone either lives or lived here. Almost everything in the places was rotting, and there were scorch marks on the ground.

Aureolin and Bolt stood at Autumn's sides as a group of people walked out from the shadows and up to them. The main man stood out almost as much as Aureolin did. He wore a dark red vest over a black undershirt. He had black pants to match his shirt, and red shoes to match his vest. The man had a tattoo of a bird on his neck, which moved up to his face. Bolt kept one of his hands near one of his pistol, seeing that Aureolin had a hand close to her trident.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Falu." Autumn greeted, a smile on her face.

"No, I should be thanking you for gracing us with your presence, Queen Autumn and Prince Bolt." Falu said, extending his hand out to Autumn, who shook it. "Sorry we're having to meet in this run down place. We have bandits hiding out somewhere in the forests near here. If they were to get word of this meeting, and I wouldn't want them interfering."

"Are you sure? I think that we can help out with that." Bolt offered, excited to fight someone.

"Oh no, that's not needed. You're our guests. There's no need for you to need to deal with our affairs." Falu said, waving them off. "Now then, shall we discuss?"

"Yes!" Autumn agreed, preparing herself for her proposal. "As you know, I have set up an academy in Agradia."

"Yes, I have heard." Falu responded, hands behind his back, wondering where Autumn was going. "It's a wonderful idea."

"Well, I was wondering if-" Autumn was cut off by the sound of a gunshot, causing everyone to turn to the right.

"Alright! Listen up!" A tall man came into view, a large group of people behind him. "Everyone, wallets, now!"

Bolt held a laugh as he looked among the group. They all wore mixed colored clothing, which made it hard to take them seriously. The man who talked wore a gray cloak, which made him stand out. They had swords that looked flimsy, and would break almost immediately. Their guns also appeared that they didn't even work, except for the main man. They all looked like fodder. Not even work the time.

Bolt looked over at Aureolin, who had a similar expression as him. She sighed as she stepped forward.

"Okay, as much as I like a good joke, you're interfering with our conversation." Aureolin said, standing in the way of the group and Autumn.

"Hey! You're talking to Quartz, leader of Jatayu." Quartz said, aiming his pistol at her.

"Don't tell me that _this_ is the gang you were talking about?" Bolt questioned, looking over towards Falu, who sighed.

"Yes, that would be them." He responded, sadly.

"Great." Bolt rolled his eyes as Aureolin turned towards Autumn.

"You ready?" She asked, reaching for her trident.

"Definitely." Bolt said, pulling out his pistols, spinning them around his finger before aiming them at the bandits. "This is gonna be fun."

**Setting: Thorn**

Team AMBR arrived at Thorn, barely seeing a sea of black in the forest just outside of the base. The three walked up to the cargo bay doors, waiting for the ramp to descend and connect to the second floor. As they walked down the ramp, a man with silver hair and purple eyes walked up to them. He wore a silver jacket over a light gray turtleneck, durable platinum pants, and black leather boots with white buckles that went up to his shins. He wore silver-enameled gauntlets for protection, and has a number of belts and straps with gray buckles crossing his body.

"There you are Platinum." Aaron greeted as they met halfway.

"Thank you for coming." Platinum thanked, greeting Team AMBR.

"What's the problem?" Rae asked, bring attention to her, and ignoring Aaron.

"We're being swarmed by Grimm. It won't be long before they breach the base." Platinum informed quickly, walking off to the left. "Sorry to talk and run, but I have to keep this place together."

"No problem, we'll handle this!" Aaron called out before using his semblance to fly out the second story window.

"Aaron, wait!" Mystic called out, but was too late as Aaron was already out of the window. Rae groaned as she started walking towards the stairs, with Mystic following behind.

Aaron flew out of the window, looking down at the ground, seeing the hordes of Grimm attempting to infiltrate the base. The guards were trying their best to keep them at bay, but were thinning out by the second. Aaron smirked as he flew down, crashing into the middle of the Grimm. Aaron's crash created a crater, disintegrating a large chunk of the Grimm. The Grimm turned towards Aaron, rushing him with sheer numbers. Aaron sliced a Creep with a quick draw of his sword, turning to kick a Beowolf in the head. Aaron stepped on the Grimm head, pinning it down to the ground as fire erupted from his foot. He burnt the Grimm to a crisp, turning back to see two Boarbatusks rolling towards him while a Nevermore launched it's feathers at him.

Aaron dodged the feathers, looking to see the Boarbatusks were about to crash down into him. Before the Boarbatusks could land their attacks, a blue portal appeared in front of him. The Grimm went into the portal, with another appearing above an Ursa, crashing down upon it. Another portal appeared above the Nevermore, and Rae came out of it, slamming her sticks against the Grimm's head. She activated the taser in her weapons, shocking the Grimm, being it crashing down. Another portal appeared next to Aaron, Rae coming out of that one. Mystic ran up to the other side of Aaron, surprising him.

"Aaron, you can't just run ahead like that!" Rae scolded, Aaron rolling his eyes in reply.

"It's just some Grimm." Aaron countered, motioning over to the defeated Grimm. "I already took out most of them."

Aaron ignited a fire ball in his hand, with a confident look on his face. "It's not a big deal."

Aaron threw the fire ball, missing all the Grimm in front of them. The three ignored the fire ball, thinking that it didn't hit anything. Unbeknownst to them, the fire ball did hit something. Something hidden deep in the forest. In the shadows of the forest surrounding Thorn, a glowing red light suddenly appeared, followed by a growl. As Mystic was taking down the Nevermores in the sky, her ear twitched at the sound, causing her to look towards the forest.

"Guys," Mystic called out, the sound getting louder and closer to them. "Something's coming."

"Where? I don't see anything." Rae responded, raining fire down on a group of Creeps.

"Doesn't matter I'll handle it-" Aaron was cut off as the ground shook.

The three looked around, preparing for the real fight. A monstrous roar could be heard as something knocked over two trees, causing the three to whipped their heads. Soon, a large Grimm could be seen walking onto the battlefield. The group's eyes widened as they saw how big this Grimm was. It appeared to be at least 5 feet tall, and as long as a bus, with an even longer tail. The Grimm's body was all black, with white armor protecting its hide. Everything on it's body was armored, except it's tail, which honestly didn't need it. The tail was armed with large, red spikes about the length and width of a human arm.

Aaron could see the burnt mark from his fire on it's armored forehead, which brought his black eyes to meet the Grimm's glowing red ones.

"I think I hit something."

* * *

**Autumn's personal guards; Aureolin, Platinum, and Iolanthe, as a group call themselves Patrons. Whenever Autumn goes anywhere, these three are most likely going to be there as well.**

**Aaron's new skill is called ****Heat Wave. It allows him to ****distribute**** the heat of his fire throughout the area. The heat created by this skill can get hot enough to melt metal. He can use this to slowly overwhelm opponents, causing them to slow down and become tired due to the intense heat. As shown, Aaron's**** whole body becomes covered in flames, from his hair down to his feet, making him quite ****literally**** on fire.**

**Falu is loosely inspired by Prometheus, with the connection being Falu's bird tattoo and the Jatayu gang. Prometheus was punished with eternal torment, by Zeus, for stealing fire and giving it to humanity. Prometheus was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle was sent to eat Prometheus' liver. The connecting between them is the annoying pain that Quartz and his gang bring to Falu and Solace. The gang's name, Jatayu, is the name of a divine bird, which is where the bird symbolism comes in.**

**Coming up: Armored Dragon**


	18. Armored Dragon

**Setting: Underground Train Station**

The station instantly became a firing range as the bandits open fired on the group. Autumn's guards fired back at the gang, taking cover behind the many old things in the station. Aureolin stood in front of Autumn, using Hard-light dust from her trident to shield them both from gun fire. Autumn rolled her eyes. She loved her friends, but hated it when they tried to protect her. It's like they forget that she's also a Huntress.

"My Lady, I suggest you get behind something more sturdy." Aureolin said as the hard-light shield starting to crack. "I don't know how much longer this'll hold."

"Aureolin. I may be a queen," Autumn pulled out three throwing stars from her bag before moving over to the side, throwing the stars towards the men raining bullets down on them. The stars exploded, knocking the men back. Autumn instinctively flipped over another man, who was behind her, landing behind him to kick him in the back. "I'm also a Huntress."

Autumn ran off, pulling out her sword, and taking down the gang members as she went. Aureolin chuckled to herself, looking around to see a blue lightning zip around the room. Bolt had immediately, attacked after the fight started, taking down gang members as he ran around the room. As he ran by bandits, he dodged bullets and sword swipes, countering with his own gun fire. The bandits were defenseless as Bolt ran by them, defeating them before the others could blink. Bolt slide under a bandits legs, jumping up to punch another in the face. Bolt kicked the man behind him in the back, sending him crashing into a table. Bolt soon entered hand-to-hand combat with the bandits. Bolt easily blocked attacks from them, making it seem easier that it was. Bolt redirected an attack, sending the attacker crashing into a table. He spun a pistol around his pinkie finger as he blocked another punch, bringing the pistol up to the man's stomach. Bolt smirked as he pulled the trigger, firing the pistol in shot-gun mode, which sent the man flying back

Bolt turned, seeing someone running at him with a cutlass. He raised his pistols to counter, but a wave of ice connected with the man's body, freezing him in place. Bolt looked over to see Aureolin with her trident aimed in his direction. They nodded to each other, with Bolt kicking the frozen man, before Bolt continued to run around the station.

Aureolin turned, striking a bandit in the chest. She looked up and saw three bandits running at her with their weapons. She spun her trident, a wheel of colors appearing on the mirror on her trident. The colors cycled until it stopped on a light-blue color. Aureolin slammed her trident into the ground, causing the floor to freeze, traveling a few feet in front of her. The ice floor caused the men running at her to fall, which she followed up by quickly spinning her trident once again. The color wheel cycled, stopping on red. As the men slid towards her, she jumped up and over them, aiming her trident under her. She launched a fire ball at the three, creating a small explosion.

Once Aureolin landed, she looked over towards Quartz, who was shooting a pistol at Autumn. The monarch easily dodged the bullets, slowly making her way towards the gang leader. Aureolin went into full sprint, her target being Quartz. Her mission was to protect her queen, and that's what she's going to do.

**Setting: Thorn**

Aaron, Rae and Mystic were wide eyed as the large lizard-like Grimm stomped onto the battlefield, roaring as it did so. It stomped on the smaller Grimm in front of it, killing them with ease. It's piercing red eyes glared at Aaron, knowing that he was the one that hit it with a fireball. The Grimm growled at the three, which caused the ground the rumble and the other Grimm around to flee the area. Aaron's shock vanished as the Grimm started to move, which caused him to grab onto his sword. He rushed the Grimm, running at an incredible speed.

Rae and Mystic blinked as they realized that Aaron had moved. "Aaron! Wait!"

Aaron jumped toward the Grimm, reeling his sword back, preparing for a great strike. The Grimm didn't move, if anything, it stood it's ground. It's armor seemed to tighten up, like the Grimm was challenging Aaron. Aaron didn't notice, focusing on striking the Grimm down. Aaron slashed at the Grimm, his sword connecting with the Grimm's armor. When Aaron turned to look at his attack, and his eyes widened as he saw that the Grimm was completely unharmed. It's armor wasn't even scratched. Aaron was then slammed by the Grimm's tail, sending him flying. Thankfully, Aaron was caught by a portal, which landed him safely on the ground.

"Damn that thing's tough." Aaron said as he stared at the Grimm, ignoring Rae's glare. "Be mad at me later. Deal with Grimm now."

Rae rolled her eyes as she shifted her sticks into Uzis. Mystic also activated her weapon's bow form, waiting for a plan from her green haired teammate. Aaron walked up next to the two, sword in hand. "This isn't going to be easy. It's armor wasn't harmed by my attack at all."

"I can see that, and I'm not sure if we can damage its armor." Rae responded, scanning the Grimm for weaknesses. "Overwhelm the Grimm with attacks. Find a weak spot. Go!"

Aaron and Mystic were off, running around the sides of the large Grimm. The Grimm's attention was completely on Aaron, who stared into it's eyes as it trailed him. The Grimm watched as Mystic and Aaron ran around him, only trailing Aaron as they did so. Aaron used his semblance to make a sharp turn, fire bursting from his side, forcing him to jet towards the Grimm at his quick speeds. The Grimm was ready for his attack, as it spun it's body at such an alarming speed, that Aaron was barely able to dodge it. Fire bursted from Aaron's feet as he maneuvered over the Grimm's spiky tail, not ready for the Grimm's arm to slam into him, sending him crashing into a rock.

An explosion was followed short after as Mystic fired fire dust arrows down on the Grimm from above. She entered through a portal whilst she was running around the creature. Since it was distracted by Aaron, she was able to prepare an attack, resulting in her raining down three fire dust arrows on the Grimm's back from above. Mystic quickly created another portal to avoid retaliation for the Grimm, landing a few feet away. Rae ran towards Aaron as he pulled himself out of the rock, holding his head in annoyance. The pyro looked up seeing the Grimm's tail shake, causing the spikes on it to vibrate. Aaron's eyes widened as he came to an assumption.

"Rae get down!" The Grimm swung it's tail towards Aaron, launching three spikes at him.

Rae turned around just in time to see what was coming. She quickly ducked, keeping close to the ground as the spikes flew over her. Aaron dodged the first spike, watching as the large, white spike flew by only inches away from his face. Aaron took cover behind the rock he crash into just as the second spike made impact with the same rock. The third spike landed near the rock, directly in front of Aaron. He could see how big the spike was up close, and it was indeed as long as his arm.

Aaron looked around the corner, seeing Mystic fire arrows at the Grimm. He ignited a fire ball in his hands, throwing it at the Grimm. Before the Grimm could strike Mystic, Aaron's fireball struck it in the face, bringing it's attention towards him. Aaron ran up, with Mystic and Rae at his sides. Aaron unsheathed his sword, activating the fire dust inside, turning the blade into a flaming blade.

"Okay, I have an idea." He stated, cloaking himself in his Elemental Aura. "We're gonna combine **Ultra Flame Blade** and **Tri Attack**."

"Is that possible?" Mystic asked, her bow at the ready.

"Let's hope. Rae." Rae shifted her weapon back into sticks, using wind dust to send gust of wind at Aaron's sword. The flames grew the more wind was being pushed at it. The flaming blade became a large flaming blade, much to Aaron's liking. "Get ready, Mystic."

Mystic quickly loaded two arrows, which were full of ice and lightning dust, on her bow string. She aimed the two arrows at the Grimm, waiting for Aaron's signal. Instead of a verbal signal, Aaron ran straight for the Grimm. The Grimm roared as Aaron ran towards him, watching as the flames on the blade grew more intense. The Grimm swiped at Aaron, who dodged the attack by jumping up in the air. Aaron raised his flaming sword, and the Grimm prepared itself, it's armor tightening up.

Aaron let out a battle cry as he brought his sword down, impacting with the Grimm's armor. Aaron twisted the hilt, releasing fire upon the Grimm. The fire grew to completely engulf the Grimm, burning up the ground below it. As Aaron was distracted, he was struck in the side, knocking him off the top of the Grimm. The fire around the Grimm died down, revealing that the Grimm was unharmed. Mystic didn't give it the chance to move as she decided to fired her arrows. The arrows flew towards the Grimm, which made impact with it's armor. The ice froze up the left side of it's body almost instantly, slowing it's movements. The lightning shocked the Grimm's right side, but didn't seem to effect it as it still moved. Mystic shifted her bow into an axe, rushing to attack.

As Mystic got closer, the ice started to crack, which prompted her to run faster. Mystic used her semblance, creating a portal in front of her. She jumped through, appearing closer to the Grimm after coming out the other side. Mystic swung her axe, hitting the armor on it's head. Just as Mystic's axe collided with the Grimm, it broke out of the ice, the force pushing Mystic back.

Rae caught Mystic as she tumbled into her, stopping her from going any further. Mystic thanked the girl, looking up to see Aaron charging at the Grimm again. She created another portal, and brought him back to them.

"What the hell?"

"We need to come up with another plan." Rae spoke up, helping Mystic up. "I mean look at the Grimm. See an exploit?"

Aaron rolled his eyes as he turned to look at the Grimm. The Grimm was unaffected, but it's armor was effected in someways. Some bits of it's armor underneath it's jaw was cracked, and it was scorched from Aaron's fire and the lightning dust. The beast moved enough to show Aaron that there were some pieces of his armor, on his back and shoulder areas, were also cracked. The Grimm roared once again, showing Aaron just how cracked the armor was. The large beast charged the three, mouth open and ready to eat. Aaron gave Rae a silent response as he gripped his sword tightly, bring it to his right side in a swinging position. Aaron smirked as he swung his sword, making contact with it's cracked armor.

The impact caused the Grimm to go flying, with Aaron right behind it. They found a weakness, and Aaron was going to use it to destroy the Grimm, without Bolt's help.

**Setting: Underground Train Station**

Autumn continued to dodge Quartz's pistol shots. She felt insulted by the man, and his shooting. It was like he was drunk, but Autumn could tell that he was trying to hit his shots. Autumn pulled out a few of her Valkyries, throwing them at Quartz, who ducked away from them. The throwing stars didn't go to a complete waste as they struck three men simultaneously. Quartz started running away, scanning around for Falu. Once he saw the man, he ran straight for him, pistol raised. Quartz lined up his shot, before firing, only to have his pistol met with a throwing star. Autumn jumped in his way, blocking Quartz's path to Falu, and causing the man to groan.

"What's your problem, lady?" Quartz questioned, annoyed at why Autumn was getting in his way.

"You are getting in the way of a new path for my people." Autumn stated angrily, unsheathing her sword.

"What? I don't give a damn about your people." Quartz responded. "I want Solace to myself. I deserve this place."

"You don't simply take things, you earn them." Autumn said as Quartz raised his pistol.

"Shut up." Quartz fired his pistol, only to have the bullet blocked by a hard-light shield. "Dammit! Stop blocking my shots."

Aureolin let her shield down, getting into fighting position. Autumn rolled her eyes as she stepped up next to Aureolin. "I had that."

"I know." Aureolin said sarcastically.

"You think you threaten me?" Quartz snapped his fingers and three tall, large, and buff men appeared behind the two girls, holding spears and naginatas. "Deal with them, won't you?"

Quartz ran away, going towards Falu. Autumn went to go after him, but was stopped by one of the men. The two girls were surrounded by the three men, forcing them to go back-to-back. Suddenly, one of the three men were kicked in the side of the head as a figure appeared next to him. The figure's body swung around the man, putting a pistol to his chest. The figure pulled the trigger, sending the large man flying, and the figure towards the two girls. The figure landed in front of them, standing up with a smile. Bolt aimed his pistols at the men.

"I got this. Go protect Falu." The girls nodded, running around the men and towards Quartz and Falu.

The two men angrily growled at Bolt, who noticed that they were clearly pissed about their comrade. The two charged Bolt, who smirked as he readied himself. Bolt dodged the first strike, running up the man's spear to kick him in the face. Bolt flipped in the air, landing on the ground, only to have to block another strike. Bolt blocked the blade of the naginata with his pistols, crushing him under the man's strength. Bolt looked at the two clashing weapons, seeing that one of Bolt's pistols was aimed at the blade, giving Bolt an idea. Bolt pulled the trigger, using his pistol in shotgun mode, and propelled the two back.

Bolt recovered instantly looking up to see the other man sprinting at him. Bolt dodged the spear, jumping up to punch the man in the face. The man stumbled back, dazed by the kick. Bolt rushed toward the man, spinning his pistols on his fingers while shifting them into shotgun mode. Bolt raised his pistol at the man, firing as recovered. The man stepped back, not expecting the attack. Bolt smirked as spun around, firing his other pistol. Bolt repeated the action multiple times, rapidly firing at the man while spinning and moving forward.

Bolt finished his attack by firing both pistols the the man, causing him to be launched backward and into the wall. Bolt turned in time to see the other man running at him with his naginata, aiming the blade at his chest. Bolt jumped over the man, firing his pistols as he ran under him. The blasted propelled the boy upward, and sent the man into the ground. Bolt landed on the man, seeing that he was down. He looked over to the girls, seeing that they had Quartz pinned on the floor, and the Falu was safe. Bolt let his guard drop, releasing a short breath. Before he was able to walk towards them, his Scroll vibrated.

He pulled it out, seeing that the other's aura levels were getting dangerously low. He looked at the screen in shock looking up as Aureolin and Autumn walking up to him, seeing his shocked face. "What's wrong, brother?"

"I need to go. Can you two handle the rest?" Bolt questioned, his body shaking.

"Yes, we should be able to." Autumn answered with a nod. "With the act we just played, Falu agreed to built the combat school."

"Good. Okay. Bye!" And with that, Bolt was gone, a lightning trail tailing behind him.

**Setting: Thorn**

Aaron charged the armored Grimm, sword in hand. As he charged the beast, he dodged the spikes it launched from it's tail. Aaron jumped over the Grimm, just barely dodging a swipe. Aaron spun around midair, striking the Grimm on the cracked armor on its back. Fire bursted out from his hand, forcing him back over the Grimm. Aaron struck the Grimm's shoulder, twisting his sword's hilt, the impact creating an explosion of fire. Aaron landed on the ground, turning to face the Grimm.

The Grimm went to launch spikes at the pyro, but couldn't as Mystic used ice dust arrows to freeze the tail mid swing. The faunus ran on top of the frozen tail, running towards the cracked armor on it's back. Mystic shifted Ashwood into it's battleaxe form, preparing herself as she reached the top of the Grimm. Mystic brought her axe over her head, before bringing it back down as hard as she could. Before he weapon could connect, the Grimm's armor tightened up, softening the blow. Mystic looked at her work, seeing that the already cracked armor didn't break. She was shocked at the face, so shocked that she didn't notice that the Grimm brought it's tail out of the tail and swung it to hit her.

Rae watched Mystic go flying, firing her weapons at the Grimm, keeping it's attention on her. Rae quickly ran behind a tree, protecting her from the spike that was launched at her. She peeked around the corner, only to move back behind the tree as another spike flew at her. Aaron sprinted towards the Grimm, sword in hand. He battled the Grimm, blocking and dodging swipes and slashes from the Grimm with his sword. Mystic came up from behind the beast, in combat with it's tail. Rae saw her two teammates in combat, and how the Grimm was getting the better of them both. Aaron was started to get tired, and it showed with how slow he was blocking. Mystic was also extremely tired. Rae could tell that the attack she took dealt a lot of damage to her aura. Aaron was struck multiple times before being flung backwards, tumbling across the ground. Mystic couldn't keep up with the Grimm's tail, which struck her and launched her into a tree.

Rae felt her Scroll vibrate, pulling it out to see a text from Bolt. She read the message, while also seeing how close he was. Rae quickly explained the situation to Bolt, the two coming up with a plan in seconds. She quickly put the plan in motion, getting the attention of the others. "Guys! Keep it in place! Bolt has a plan."

"What?! We don't need his plan. I got this!" Aaron called back, taking to the sky, with fire bursting from his feet. He flew around the beast, throwing fireballs as he did so.

"Idiot! Just target his back!" Rae yelled back, sighing. She would have to make it work. "Mystic. We need to keep the Grimm in on place. Bolt said that he might be able to kill it."

"Right." Mystic loaded and fire gravity and ice dust upon the Grimm, slowly making it heavier.

Aaron threw fire balls rapidly, most of them going straight for back. The Grimm roared in pain and annoyance as it took damage from all sides, and that it felt too heavy to move. Rae stopped firing at the Grimm as she heard the sound of thunder behind them.

"Aaron! Move!" Aaron continued to throw fireball at it, easily dodging the spikes it launched in retaliation, since the beast's body was slowed incredibly.

Before Aaron knew it, he was next to the girls. He looked at the two in confusion and anger, only to be shut down with a glare from Rae. Suddenly, thunderclouds filled the sky, as well as a silhouette of a person. The person was Bolt, who had ran the whole way to Thorn and jumped into the air over the Grimm. Lightning struck down, but instead of it hitting the ground, it hit Bolt, surrounding him and creating a sphere around him. Bolt then came crashing down on the Grimm, striking the Grimm as if he were a human lightning bolt, causing the beast to scream in pain. Bolt unleashed his lightning on the Grimm, his sword having pierced the Grimm's cracked armor, shocking the beast until it disintegrated.

The others covered their eyes at the brightness of the lightning, whilst the impact created a dust cloud that covered the Grimm, as well as Bolt. The dust slowly cleared out, revealing Bolt standing in the place of the Grimm, the lightning surrounding him slowly dissipating. Bolt looked over at the others, walking towards them with worry on his face.

"You guys okay?" Bolt asked, only to be ignored by Aaron was he walked toward Thorn.

"Yes. We're fine." Rae answered, ignoring Aaron. "Just a little banged up."

"Right. Thorn should be fine for now. Let's go home." Bolt said, which the girls were happy to do.

* * *

**Bolt has gotten better at using his pistols in their new shotgun mode. He has a set stance when firing his pistols, making sure that he doesn't go flying unless he wants to.**

**This Grimm is called the Armored Dragon. It's based off of a ****Komodo Dragon and an A****nkylosaurus, with the body being the Komodo Dragon half and the armor and tail being the ****A****nkylosaurus half****. The Grimm has i****mmense strength, able to crush objects with ease. It's claws are sharp enough to slice through solid rock. It's armor is rumored to be ****impenetrable, despite it slowly get worn down over time. As shown, it can shoot the spikes off of it's tail at it's target.**

**Aureolin is loosely based on Jason of Greek Mythology, shown by her emblem and her weapon's name. Her emblem is the Golden Wool, aka the Golden Fleece, and her weapon's name is ****Aeson, the father of Jason. Her weapon is also a trident because of Aeson's two stepbrothers, who were born from a brief relationship between Tyro and the god Poseidon.**

**Coming up: Raid of ****Gladiolus**


	19. Raid of Gladiolus

**Setting: Gladiolus**

In the middle of North Solitas, there was a large weapons and tech storage facility. There were two buildings, which were connected to each other by another wider building between them. The building was extremely long, separating the two taller buildings by 40 feet. There we also pipes coming from out of the ground a few meters away, which led all the way towards the facility, providing the large structure with power. There was also two, floating tunnel systems connected to taller buildings, leading into a nearby mountain. The tunnel systems were ways of transportation, for weapons, items and also people. The tunnels led straight to Atlas. This facility was called Gladiolus.

A few feet, standing on the pipes, were three figures. The three were Cinder, Moonlight, and Sunlight, who were spying on the facility. Moonlight watched as the last worker get into one of the tunnels, before leaving the building, leaving it completely empty. Moonlight turned to her family, giving the sign. Cinder nodded as she ignited a fire ball in her hands. She ran across the pipes, leading the twins towards. The three ran atop of the pipe, rushing through the blizzard. The three stopped as they reached the taller buildings. Sunlight held her spear up to the, activating the fire dust in the weapon and heating her spear's blade to cut a hole into the building.

The three jumped through the hole, safely landing on the facility ground. They immediately were on the move, sprinting in the shadows towards their goal. The three stopped as they came across a door. Cinder kicked the door down, poking her head around around the corner, seeing that it was clear.

"Sunlight," Cinder started as she turned back towards the twins. "Stand guard here. Make sure no one get past this door."

"What? I'm on guard duty? What the hell?" Sunlight angrily questioned, a little louder than she thought she did.

"Yes. No one is here." Cinder said with a straight face. "Team AMBR will be here soon, and you need to stall them long enough for us to get what we came for."

"What're we looking for anyways?" Sunlight asked before her sister and mother could walk through the door.

"We are looking for a weapon recently created to stop Bolt Rai." Cinder answered, surprising both girls. "A weapon that can nullify his semblance."

"Why didn't we get it before?" Moonlight asked, saying what Sunlight was thinking.

"It wasn't made yet, dear. We're from the future, remember? This is just the prototype." Cinder rolled her eyes before walking through the door and towards their destination, Moonlight right behind her.

Sunlight rolled her eyes as the two went, walking away from the door. She looked around, seeing scraps and machines everywhere. She looked out the windows, watching as the snow fell. She tried distracting herself from the neglect she was feeling. She loved her sister, she really did, but she knew that Moonlight had their mother's trust. Thankfully, Sunlight didn't have to think about it as she spotted three people on the pipes through the window. She saw Bolt, Aaron, and Mystic standing on the pipes, where she was earlier.

"I see Team AMBR, three of them at least." Sunlight said into her ear piece.

"Stall them. We'll keep an eye out for the other one." Cinder responded, causing Sunlight to smirk as she pulled out her spear. The bright haired girl aimed her spear at the closest person to the facility, before hurling her spear at them, using her semblance to control her spear as it went.

Bolt, Aaron, and Mystic stood on the pipes, discussing their plan to combat Cinder and the Twins. During Aaron's explanation of the plan, Bolt felt something flying at them. He turned towards the facility, seeing a glare for a second. He tilted his head and squinted, his eyes widening once an object came into view. It was Sunlight's spear, and it was aimed at Mystic. As it got closer, he could see could that gears on the spear turn as the blade sparked with lightning. Before Mystic or Aaron could react, Bolt pushed Mystic out of the way, before catching the spear.

The momentum of the spear sent Bolt flying along with the spear, the wind followed by it showing that Sunlight was using her semblance. Aaron and Mystic's heads wiped over as Bolt went flying. "Shit. I knew we should've went in a soon as we got here."

"You might've been right." Mystic agreed, watching as Bolt got further and further away from them. "You go and stop them from whatever they're doing. I'll help Bolt."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Aaron said, before blasting off towards the facility. Mystic rolled her eyes as she sprinted off towards Bolt, trying to use her portals to catch up with him.

Bolt gripped the spear tightly, not letting go as he flew. Bolt was shocked at how fast he was going. Bolt looked up at the spear, seeing that Sunlight was still controlling it by the amber glow cloaking the weapon. Bolt saw the dust in the spear change from yellow dust to red dust, and he knew what Sunlight was planning. He tried to aim the spear downward, but it wouldn't budge.

_"How the hell did I do this the last time?!"_ Bolt asked himself, before coming to a realization. "_Oh right..."_

Bolt's eyes sparked red as used all his strength to lift himself and the spear, barely colliding with the mountain. Bolt used the crash to flip himself and landed on the mountain top, skidding across it as he tried to stop. Bolt's body was surround by red lightning as he flipped over the spear, changing his hand's position as he got a better grip of the weapon. Bolt then spun on his heels, changing the spear's momentum until he and the spear stopped. Bolt took deep breaths, eyes closed as he finally had control of the spear.

He looked at the spear, feeling it shake as Sunlight tried calling it back. The Lightning Elemental used his strength to keep the spear in his hand. Bolt looked toward the facility in annoyance. Bolt winded up, throwing spear back towards the facility with all the strength he could muster. As Mystic was trying to get up the mountain, she saw the spear jet back towards the facility. She created a portal behind her, jumping backward and sending herself next to Bolt. She watched as the red lightning faded, and the anger leaving Bolt's face with a deep breath.

"I'm fine," Bolt said before Mystic could say anything. "I promise."

"Y-Yeah! Okay!" Mystic nodded in agreement. "Let's make sure that Aaron doesn't blow the facility up."

"Yeah. Let's do that."

Inside the facility, Aaron bursted through the window, surprising Sunlight as she tried calling her spear back. She whipped around glaring at Aaron as he sprinted towards her. Sunlight swung at Aaron as he got closer, but Aaron jumped over her. He kicked the door down, running down the hallway, ignoring Sunlight completely. Sunlight growled as she was ignored again. Luckily, she wouldn't be completely ignored. She instinctively ducked as her spear came crashing through the window. She didn't question it as she went and grabbed her spear as a portal appeared behind her, with Bolt and Mystic coming through out of it.

Sunlight activated the fire dust in her spear before turning to face Bolt and Mystic. Bolt and Mystic looked at Sunlight before looking at each other. They didn't have time to combat the bright haired twin. They had to stop Cinder from getting whatever she needed from this facility. Bolt and Mystic had a silent conversation before they suddenly sprinted at Sunlight. Sunlight didn't know who to keep her eyes on. Bolt steered off to the right, which had all of Sunlight's attention. Mystic took this chance and jumped over Sunlight. Sunlight's eyes widened in shock as she saw Mystic fly over her, before landing and running through the door.

Sunlight silently cursed to herself, moving towards the door. Bolt suddenly appeared in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. "This version of you really is more annoying that the future one."

"What can I say? It's my hobby." Bolt shrugged with a smirk.

Aaron ran through the hallway, looking around for Cinder. He ran into a large room, ignoring the crates and their labels. He continued to run, seeing a door above him, up some stairs. As Aaron ran up the stairs, he was kicked in the chest, causing him to fall down the stairs. He looked up to see Moonlight standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at him. Aaron groaned, knowing what this meant. He was getting close to Cinder. Aaron unsheathed his sword, activating the fire dust in the weapon. Before Aaron could move, Moonlight vanished, reappearing to his right side. She kicked him in the side, but he recovered, using Nuclear to propel himself into the air.

Moonlight shifted her sword into a scabbard rifle, firing at the pyro. Aaron dodged the bullets easily, fire bursting out of the sides of his body, maneuvering himself away from the bullets. Aaron used his semblance to boost towards Moonlight, who shifted her rifle back to a sword, waiting for Aaron's strike. Aaron spun around in the air, throwing a fire ball at the dark haired twin. Moonlight used her semblance, appearing up in the air along with Aaron. She then appeared behind him, kicking him down to the floor.

Aaron groaned as he stood up. He didn't have time for this. He wanted to fight Cinder. Aaron looked at Moonlight as she reappeared on the ground, gripping his sword tightly. As he was about to charge in, Moonlight was suddenly thrusted off to the side by an explosion. Aaron looked to the side, seeing Mystic running to them, bow in hand. He smiled, running up the stairs and after Cinder.

"You're welcome!" Mystic yelled, aiming her bow at Moonlight as she stood back up.

Bolt and Sunlight were engaged in combat, weapons clashing. Sunlight struggled to keep up with Bolt as he ran around the area. She threw Sol at the boy, only to have him dodge it. She then used her semblance to have her spear follow after him. Bolt turned, skidding to a stop, before dodging the spear again. Sunlight called Sol back to her as she ran at Bolt, Bolt sheathed his sword and upholstered his pistols. Bolt parried a strike from Sunlight's spear, firing at Sunlight. Sunlight spun her spear around, blocking the bullets as they came at her. Bolt ran and jumped over Sunlight continuously firing as he changed one of his pistol to Shotgun Mode. Before Bolt landed on her other side, he used his pistol to propel himself back, confusing Sunlight when he didn't land in front of her. It was too late as she was launched into the wall by Bolt.

Bolt used his semblance to charge at Sunlight before she had the chance to stand up, sending her through the wall. Bolt ducked under the spear, and continued to dodge it as Sunlight used the distraction to recover. The spear chased Bolt around and he ran away from it. The spear appeared to be catching up with Bolt, somehow getting faster. He looked over to see the reason. Sunlight was putting all of her aura into semblance, increasing the spear's speed. Bolt got an idea as he ran away from the spear, still shocked that it was keeping up with his natural full speed. He skidded to a stop, turning around to face the spear. He smirked as his eyes sparked. Bolt's idea was to go faster.

Suddenly, Bolt vanished from Sunlight's sight, putting her on edge, and the sound of sparks around her didn't help. Bolt moved around Sunlight, going so fast that she couldn't keep up. So, she wasn't shocked when she felt something collide to her side, dealing great damage to her aura, before leaving. She knew it was Bolt, and it pissed her off that she couldn't see him. She took three more hits, two to her back and one to her stomach. Sunlight groaned as she felt her aura getting low. Bolt then reappeared in front of her, which she responded by swinging at him. Bolt vanished again, dodging her attack. Sunlight then felt a fist on her chin, launching her in the air before she crashed onto the ground unconscious.

Bolt looked down at Sunlight's unconscious body, making sure that the girl wasn't faking it. He backed up, stepping on the girl's spear. He picked it up, throwing it way from the girl. Bolt sighed as he calm himself down from the short battle, heading over towards the door Aaron and Mystic ran through. He needed to stop Cinder before Aaron found her, or she got what she came for.

Mystic fired arrows at Moonlight as she teleported around the room. Mystic turned, firing at arrow at the girl, but missed as she vanished once again. Mystic knew where Moonlight would end up. She could hear her foot land on the ground once she arrived at her new position, thanks to her Faunus nature. She was acting as if she was struggling, knowing that using a semblance as much as Moonlight was using hers took loads of aura. Moonlight appeared behind her, which Mystic heard. She turned, using her weapon's bladed upgrade to block Moonlight's sword strike. She parried the girl off, swinging at her. Moonlight dodged the attack, flipping back and vanishing again. Mystic could hear the girl's feet touching the ground and leaving, over and over again. She also heard something else coming from behind her. She heard the sparks of lightning, getting closer and closer to them. She smirked as she waited.

She fired her bow as Moonlight appeared in front of her, knowing that she would out leap away. Mystic looked up as Moonlight appeared above, her sword now a rifle. Before Mystic had the chance to fire, Moonlight was kicked away by a lightning bolt, causing her to collide into the wall across the room. Her aura broke on contact. Bolt landed in front of Mystic, looking at Moonlight's unconscious body.

"Two down, one to go." Mystic nodded, following Bolt as they went to find Cinder, and possibly Aaron.

Aaron bursted into a room, destroying the door and the doorway in the process. He looked around, not seeing Cinder anywhere. He looked around the room, seeing broken machines and crates everywhere. He guessed that he was in a storage room. He turned as he felt a presence behind him.

"Well, I didn't think that you'd be the first one to show up." Cinder said, walking into the large storage room.

"I mean, I did come to stop you so..." Aaron trailed off, watching as Cinder walked up to a crate a few feet away from him.

"That may be true, but I was expecting Bolt. You know, because can actually do something." Cinder smiled as he back was faced against the boy. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was taking a page out of Bolt's book, annoying the enemy.

Aaron growled as he propelled himself at Cinder, fire bursting from his feet. Cinder smirked as Aaron got closer, a reeled fist cloaked in flames. "You can't beat me! You're flames can't hurt me!"

"I know, but this will." Cinder said, turning to fire an ice blast at Aaron, completely freezing his body. The frozen Aaron fell to the ground. "Besides, I already found what I needed."

_"Since when could she do that?! Dammit!"_ Aaron thought to himself as he used his semblance to melt and burst out of the ice. "Oh? What was it?"

"Hmm... Since you are going to die, I guess I can tell you." She said, pulling out a silver sphere from her pocket. "Before you ask, it's a device made to negate electricity."

"What would you want to negate...Oh." Aaron's eyes widened at the realization. _"Wait, why does she not think I'm a threat. I'm the damn Fire Elemental! I'll show her."_

Aaron ran at Cinder, propelling himself up into the air and towards Cinder. He unsheathed his sword, cloaking it in fire as he fell down on Cinder. Cinder created a flaming rock sword, blocking Aaron's attack. Aaron was shocked at Cinder's ability. He thought that Cinder only had the ability to manipulate fire, similar to his control over it. He really needed to read up on Maidens later, if they lived after this. Cinder parried him away, rushing at him as he landed on the ground. Aaron slammed his sword against the ground, sending a wave of fire at Cinder. The Maiden countered by summoning a extremely powerful wind, blowing away Aaron's fire. Aaron jumped over the wind, swinging his sword down of the girl. She blocked the strike, firing another ice blast at his chest. Aaron dodged the blast, returning the blast with a fire blast of his own. Cinder was engulfed in the blast, the force of it sending Aaron to the other side of the room.

The smoke and ash cleared from the room, revealing Cinder on her knee. Aaron smirked, feeling victorious. Cinder knew what she was doing. She knew how Aaron was, and how to trick him. She needed to act defeated, because Aaron wouldn't question someone falling before his feet.

"See, I told you. I'm an Elemental, and we're supposed to defeat rou-" Aaron was cut off as an arm wrapped around his throat and slammed against the wall. Aaron looked down to see the hand of a Grimm wrapped around his neck. He looked down the hand, seeing it was attached to Cinder. "The hell?"

"You are very gullible, Aaron Neon." Cinder said with a smirk, tightening her grip on Aaron's neck. "I am much more than what you've read about me. I am _much_ more."

"What? A bigger bitch?" Aaron said, gripped onto the Grimm hand, attempting to pulling it off. "Cause that's all I see."

"Cocky until the end. I'll give you that." Cinder said before Aaron felt something draining out of his body. He looked down the arm, seeing a red glow flowing towards Cinder. "Any last words?"

"I got two!" A voice said as Cinder's Grimm arm was cutting, causing her to cry out in pain and Aaron to be free from it's grip. Cinder growled in pain as she looked up, seeing Bolt standing in between her and Aaron, her arm disintegrating on the ground. "My turn."

Bolt's eyes sparked as he sprinted towards Cinder. She chuckled as she pulled out the device, pressing the button on it. Aaron looked on as he recovered, seeing Bolt running at Cinder. "Shit. Wait! Bolt!"

Bolt eyes widened as his semblance suddenly stopped, causing him to tumble at the sudden lost traction. Bolt quickly recovered, looking down at his hands in confusion and shock. He tried to summon lightning, only to have his hands spark before fading. Bolt looked up, glaring at Cinder, who could only smirk.

"What did you do?" Bolt questioned, more cautious then ever.

"You'll figure it out." Cinder said as she tapped a button on her wrist band. "Bye now."

And just like that, she was gone. Bolt rolled his eyes as he walked over to Aaron and Mystic, ignoring Cinder's words. He helped Aaron stand, the pyro's mind in wonder. The two looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Aaron nodded, walking off towards the way they came. Mystic looked at Bolt for an answer, only to get a shrug in return.

"What about the Twins?"

"Moonlight probably left with Sunlight when Cinder left." Bolt said with a long sigh.

"What're going to do about he device?"

"I'll deal with it." Bolt said, following Aaron. "I don't need my semblance to beat Cinder...I think."

"Right. We should leave be the silent alarm is reactivated."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

**Setting:** **Team AMBR's Shared Living Room**

Aaron walked into the living room attached to both of AMBR's bedrooms, freshly out from a hot shower. He walked in to see Rae, sitting at a desk with a holo-screen displaying something in front of her. Aaron walked over to the green haired ex-heiress, looking at what was on the screen, whilst putting on a plain red shirt. The pyro was surprised that she didn't hear him, maybe it was because of the headphones she had on. On the screen, he saw what appeared to be a much younger Cinder. She looked to at least be a year or two younger than the two in the room. There were also three other people with her. One of the two looked very familiar to Aaron, while the third was completely new to him. Aaron recognized one to be the same guy that he talked to in Mistral, but much younger. The last one was obvious. It was a younger Stone, and just seeing how happy the man was pissed Aaron off. The unrecognized one was a woman, and she looked like she could be a Schnee with her silver hair and military-like outfit. Aaron decided that it was time to let Rae know he was there, tapping on her shoulder.

"AHH!" Rae jumped, turning around to see Aaron behind her. "What are you doing, you asshole!"

"I was coming to get some water before I went to bed. What are _you_ doing up this late?" Aaron questioned as Rae calmed herself down. "And what're you watching on the screen?"

"I, uh, I was..." Rae trailed off as she tried to find the words. "...I asked Sierra to fix the corrupted files on Cinder files. I was reading them, and I guess I lost track of time."

"And you did that, why?" Aaron asked, arms crossed.

"I wanted to get to know her, to understand her." Aaron tilted his head in confusion. Rae sighed as she had to explain. "I wanted to know why she's doing this. How she got roped in with Salem, and why she hasn't left her yet."

"Okay," Aaron nodded, making it Rae's turn to be confused. "I'll help."

"What? Why? You hate Cinder." Rae stated, wondering what plot Aaron had.

"Yeah, I know, but I also wanted to know how her life took a turn to Salem." Aaron said, Rae shaking her head as she went to sit back down. "And so I can beat her."

"There it is."

"What?"

"Nothing. You better read quickly, because I read fast and I'm not slowing down." Rae said, Aaron rolling his eyes as he took a seat next to her, readying the screen along with her.

* * *

**Coming up: Threats and Effects**


	20. Threats and Effects

**Setting:** **Team AMBR's Connected Living Room**

"I did it!"

Aaron awoke to Rae yelling, cheering about something. He opened his eyes to see a black table. He groaned again as he lifted his head, looking up to a sight. He saw Rae dancing around with a smile on her face. He didn't know whether to smile or be confused about the action. He decided to be confused about the situation, before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What the hell are you yelling about?" He asked, scarring Rae and causing her to jump. She turned to face the boy, her face full of anger. "Hey, don't be mad at me. You're the one dancing and yelling at 7 in the morning."

Rae rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Well, to answer you're question, I found Cinder's base."

"That's awesome! How'd you do that?"

"Well, I read Cinder's whole file, and reread the parts where she visited a place. Then, I figured out which place she went to the most, and enjoyed being at the most, and then pinpointed where that area was. I then checked for any recent movement, and there's definitely people there." Rae said, her face filled with pride.

"Cool. Let's go take it to that bi-"

"Woah! First of all, that's rude. Second of all, like you said, it's 7 am. We're not doing anything until I get proper sleep." It was Aaron's turn to roll his eyes.

"Fine. But I _am_ going to that base, and I will get even with her."

**Setting: Outside of Cinder's Base**

Bolt and Rae walked across a large, field with dead grass. Bolt never thought he'd see so much dead grass in one area. They walked up a hill, seeing a very abandoned-looking town. It was even more depressing than the grass. The town looked desaturated of all of it's color. There was barely anything with color. All the buildings were grey, and close to collapsing. Bolt thought that Acton was bad, this place was even worse. There was only one perfect condition, which Bolt guessed was Cinder's base. Bolt thought this was a strange place to set up camp, but Rae thought different.

Rae's eyes widened in amazement, much to Bolt's confusion. She gazed amongst the dead grass like it was candy. Bolt had never seen Rae like this, or at least he didn't notice when she was like this. It was almost as scary as a angry Rae.

"This place is amazing! Never thought Cinder would make her base here." Rae said, confusion Bolt even more.

"What're talking about?" He questioned, trying to figure out what was going on.

"For all we know, Cinder is evil to her core, but she picked this place for a base. I mean, look at the flowers. She doesn't look like a girl who likes flowers anymore. So strange." Rae said, looking back at Bolt, who's head was tilted in confusion. "Anyways, we should make sure that Cinder's actually here."

"I, uh, yeah...sure." Rae nodded as she walked down the hill and towards the town. "Why this place anyways?"

"From what Aaron and I read, this was where Cinder met Emerald."

"Huh. Let's hope it matches up with the info I got at Acton."

Bolt slowly followed her, watching her closely. She didn't appear to be faking it, or losing her mind. This wasn't like Rae at all. She wouldn't normally express her happiness about something in front of the others, but what made it more strange was that none of what she was saying was actually there. It was like she was glad that she was seeing this, like she was seeing something else.

_"Son of a-"_

"Well, well, well. You've found me." A voice said as Cinder turned around a corner. "I didn't think it be so soon. Congratulations."

"We don't need your praises, and you we're totally expecting us." Rae countered, hands reaching for Nightswift. "It's a nice place you have here. Didn't think it was you're style."

"Yes, as you may know, it holds special value to me." Cinder said, stroking the building she stood against.

"I see that your arm's feeling better." Rae said, motioning towards the Grimm arm.

"No thanks to you four."

"We don't have time for your games. Tell us why you allowed us to find you." Cinder's head turned towards Bolt, proudly. "You're from the future. If you didn't want to be found, and were truly trying to takeover Remnant, we wouldn't be here. We would be dead easily, so why the hell are you dragging this fight on?"

"All of that is true. I could've ended this when it started," Cinder agreed, her smile pissing Bolt off. "But, it wouldn't feel satisfying if there wasn't a challenge. I've dragged this on for as long as I have because I want a challenge, to prove that you can't beat me. Past, Present, or Future."

"Really? That's it?" Rae questioned, confused by the response. _"You magic wielders and your pride."_

"That's one question answered, now the second. Why did you let us find you?" Bolt asked, arms crossed, acting as if he saw the same as Rae.

"Well, if you're so eager to know, I want to set a time for our final battle." Bolt's head titled, as he and Rae looked to each other, confused at Cinder's request. "I think it's finally time to end this. Us verses you."

"What?"

"There is another abandoned town a few miles west. That is where we shall have our final battle." Cinder said, earning an eye roll from Rae. "I expect you to arrive in 5 days time?"

"Why the hell should we-"

"Okay. We accept." Rae whipped over to Bolt, eyes wide with shock.

"What're doin-"

"I got this." Bolt cut her off again, only confusing and angering Rae more.

"Good. Don't be late." Cinder said, walking back around the corner. Rae ran after her, turning the corner to see nothing. She looked back at Bolt with anger and confusion in her eyes.

"Are you crazy?! That's clearly a trap."

"Oh, I know. That's why we're not going." Bolt said, Rae groaning as she still didn't understand. "I'll explain on the way back."

"I...I don't know how I deal with you guys everyday."

**Setting: Forest Clearing**

"So, what you're saying, is that what I saw wasn't there? Like I was seeing things?" Rae asked, hands on her head as she processed Bolt's information.

"Right." He nodded.

"And that your plan is too not do what she says, and surprise her by taking the fight to her when she least expects?" Mystic added, causing Bolt to turn to her.

"Exactly." He nodded again.

"Okay, I'm in." Aaron said, sitting up to attention. Rae rolled her eyes at his comment.

"You're just happy to be getting an upper hand against her."

"Damn straight." Aaron said, arms on his hips, a smile painting on his face.

"I just don't understand how what I saw wasn't real. It, it all looked so real." Rae said in disbelief. "I could practically smell the flowers."

"It was probably Emerald's semblance. She can create illusions, similar to Iotas." Bolt explained, grimacing as he mentioned a part of his old life. "Guess Emerald has gotten better with her semblance in the future."

"Wait," Aaron suddenly said, bringing the attention to him. "I just thought of the best idea ever."

"I'm not so sure about that, but go ahead." Rae said reluctantly, giving Aaron the floor.

"Trust me, it's a simple idea. Why don't you just use your Rai-whatever against Cinder's whole group." Aaron said, motioning to Bolt. "I mean, it helped you cream the Alpha. It could definitely do the same here."

"It's not that simple. It was a one time thing, and I don't know if I can do it again, or what it'll do to me if I do it again." Bolt countered, Aaron eyes rolling in response.

"Alright, but don't come crawling to me when you want to try the idea."

"Shut up."

"Make me." Aaron taunted with a smirk, arms crossed.

"Don't even start, you two." Rae warned, the two boys still glaring at each other. "We already have enough to deal with, and I'm not in the mood to deal with you two."

As they talked, Mystic heard something. She heard multiple things. Footsteps, metal clinking together, and the reloading of guns. She stood up, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sounds, but it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. It was as if they were surrounded. Before Mystic could warn the others, she heard the sound of a rocket. She looked over, seeing that it was too late as the rocket was already inches away from Bolt. Bolt turned, sensing the danger. He was too slow to reach for his sword, or move out of the way.

Just before the rocket could collide with Bolt, Aaron appeared in between, hands over his chest. The rocket exploded on contact, covering the four in smoke and flames. Bolt covered his face as the flames spread out, blocking his vision. Luckily, it wouldn't last long as the flames slowly dissipated. Bolt uncovered his eyes to see Aaron, making the flames around them smaller. It reminded him of when he absorbed the fire from Teo's semblance. Soon, the flames became a small fire ball in Aaron's hands. Bolt looked around and saw that Mystic and Rae were fine, surrounding in one of Mystic's barriers. They watched as Aaron forced his hands together, dissipating the fire.

"You guys good?" Aaron asked, looking back at the others as they grouped up.

"Yeah, just forgot you can do that." Bolt said, as he looked around. "What're we dealing with?"

"Possibly four teams of armed opponents." Mystic responded, pulling out Ashwood and shift it into bow form.

"Great. I wanted to get my frustrations out, you know, since I wasn't allowed to go to the hideout." Aaron said, clearly anger. "Yes! I'm still mad about it!"

"Shut up, Aaron." Rae said. Aaron rolled his eyes as he watched eight people walk out of the forest.

"Here they come." He said, cracking his neck. Bolt saw eight more people enter the clearing, proving Mystic right. 16 people, against the four of them. They all appeared to be from an academy.

"I think I know what happening." Bolt said, as the group walked up. "Might be Haven students."

"Dammit! I don't wanna beat up kids." Aaron complained.

"Dude, you're only a year older than most of them." Bolt said, earning a groan from the pyro.

"Guys, shut up and listen." Rae said, stopping the boys from arguing. "In situations like this, usually people are assigned targets."

"Okay, so how to we figure that out?" Aaron asked, looking at the group of people closing in on them. "Please let me take the heavy hitters."

"We split. Figure out who's assigned to who, and then we jumble it up." Rae ordered.

"Right, and then after we do that, we go all out to defend ourselves." Aaron added, making their plan set. "I call the heavy hitters."

"Sadly, Aaron's right." Mystic said, loading an arrow into her bow. "We need to take on the ones who fight similar to us, we'll have an easier time against them. I'll take the ranged fighters."

"Okay, then. I guess I'll get the quick, close quarters fighters." Bolt added, grabbing into his dual pistols.

"And that leaves me with the tacticians." Rae finished.

With their plan made, Bolt and Aaron ran off. Bolt watched as four people separated from their individual teams, chasing after him. The same happened with Aaron. Mystic ran towards a tree, firing her arrows at the other ranged based fighters. Rae did the same, seeing her fellow strategist staying in the back.

Aaron came to a stop as he was surrounded by the students assigned to take him down. Surprisingly, the plan they had didn't need to be made, because it appeared that the heavy hitters were on Aaron already. A girl with bull horns charged at Aaron, who propelled himself backwards using his semblance. He dodged the punch from the girl, only to be struck by a glaive. Aaron turned as he felt someone behind him, catching a punch from the attacker.

Aaron used his semblance to blast the man back with fire. Aaron barely dodged the blade of the glaive, seeing that it was a dark red haired girl wielding it. Aaron blocked another strike from the girl with his sword, parrying it off to the side. He suddenly took a lightning bolt to the chest. He looked up to see a man with light blonde hair holding a revolving canalizer. He rolled his eyes as the Faunus girl with bull horns continued ran at him. This was going to be a long fight.

Bolt was speeding around the battle, both pistols in his hands. He was getting chased, with people that were slowly then him. He skidded to a stop, blocking strike from a blue and red sword from a purple haired girl. Bolt parried her off to the side, kicking her to the side. He jumped back as two girls ran at him, one with yellow hair and the other with dirty blonde hair. He jumped back, dodging the yellow haired girl's broadsword. He looked up, seeing the blonde girl above him. She fired shots from her crossbow, causing Bolt to move out of the way.

Bolt dodged bullets as they were fired at him, looking to his left to see the purple haired girl running at him. He groaned as he used his semblance to move out of her way. As he went to move, he felt something hook onto his arm and pull on it. He looked to see the hook end of a chain scythe. The move opened him up, allowing the yellow haired girl to kick him in the chest. This was going to get annoying.

Mystic was in a ranged battle with multiple people at once. While she fired one or two arrows, she was met with five or six different projectiles at once. She quickly fired a fire dust arrow, moving out of her cover as the arrow made contact. She summoned a portal, protecting her from the projectiles. She summoned another portal, sending the projectiles into the middle of the battlefield and creating an explosion. She ran over to Rae, who was also having the same troubles as her.

Rae was decent in close-combatant, but not skilled enough to take on multiple people at once, like Bolt, Aaron or even Mystic. Especially when she was fighting against people, who think similarly to her. Currently, she was fighting against a man with a cowboy hat on. He wielded a combat knife. He swung the knife, which Rae blocked and parried. The man was very skilled with the knife, moving faster and faster as he got momentum. Mystic saw this, firing a wind dust arrow at the man.

As the arrow connected, blasting the boy away with a strong gust of wind. "Rae!"

"I'm fine, but we don't have time for this." Rae said as two more student ran at them. "We need to leave before we're overpowered."

"Do you have anything in mind?" Mystic asked, using her Barriers to hold the group back.

"Yes, we retreat." Mystic nodded, knowing that she was right. "But we're going to need a distraction to get the airship up and running."

"I think I know two perfect people." Mystic said, using her Telepathy. _"Guys, we have a plan."_

_"Okay, shoot." _Aaron responded as he dodged grenades.

_"We need to retreat."_ Rae cut in, sprinting towards the airship as Mystic continued to use her Barriers to defend them, draining her aura immensely.

_"What? Hell no! I'm not retreating because of a bunch of kids." _Aaron countered.

_"Wait, there's more." _Rae added, mentally hearing Aaron roll her eyes. _"We need you two to distract them while Mystic and I prepare the airship."_

_"So, you want the two of us to take on all of them?" _Aaron questioned, using Nuclear to take to the skies._ "That sounds like a challenge, right, Light Bulb."_

_"Yeah. I think I wanna cut loose." _Bolt responded, kicking the yellow haired girl in the leg, causing her to fall. He took off towards Mystic, with Aaron doing the same.

Mystic dropped her Barrier, running after Rae. Bolt and Aaron immediately replaced her. The two looked at each other, nodding as the group came at them. Aaron body as cloaked in fire and he cracked his knuckles. Bolt's eyes sparked as summoned his lightning blade and unsheathed Vorpal.

"Challenge, you said?" Aaron looked over at Bolt, chucking.

"Whoever gets the most defeated before we leave wins?" Aaron proposed, already knowing the answer.

"You're on."

"**Absolute Carnage: All-Out** in 3...2...1... Go!" Both boys rushed forward, appearing as blurs to their opponents.

Bolt was instantly in front of the purple haired dual wielder, kicking her back. Bolt side-stepped a knife as it came at him, jumping back. The man changed the form of his knife, causing it to go from knife to polearm. Bolt easily dodged the polearm, speeding behind the man and tripping him. Bolt turned and grabbed onto the chain scythe. He spun the wielder around, throwing her across the battlefield and over Aaron.

Aaron ignored the girl flying over them as he was looked in combat. The Bull faunus was extremely good at close quarters combat, and her strength was incredible. Aaron dodged a punch, using his fire to propel himself upward. Aaron then heel kicked the girl, which she blocked. Aaron flipped off her arms, using his fire to boost himself forward. His body rammed into the girl, sending her back a few feet. He was suddenly slammed back into ground. He looked up to see a green haired girl holding a bat-like weapon. He rolled his eyes, as he threw fire balls at the group, only to have it blocked by a hard-light shield wielded by the wolf faunus with the grenade launching gauntlets.

Bolt ran around the battlefield, dodging bullets as he did so. Bolt stopped in his tracks, avoiding an attack by a blonde haired girl in a blue dress. Bolt slashed at her, only to have her jump away. Bolt followed, shocking at how high she jumped. Bolt's gaze lead him to a bunny faunus, who released a fast pulse, which pushed him back. Bolt went tumbling, but stabbed his sword into the ground, stopping him. He looked up to see the purple haired girl and the girl who was shooting at him, who now wielded a sword-spear, sprinting at him. He looked at their movements and their faces, seeing something familiar in both of them. No emotion and hotblooded.

Bolt sighed, red lightning cloaking his body as his eyes changed color. "Just for a second."

Bolt then rushed at the two, meeting them half-way. The purple haired girl blocked a high speed kick from Bolt, which placed him in the middle of the two. The other girl used his sword-spear, slashing at him with the giant weapon. Bolt dodged and blocked the strikes, finding an opening and kicking her back. Bolt turned, grabbing onto the red sword as it was swung at him. He pulled the girl forward, punching her in the face. As Bolt had now given himself to space, he let dropped the red lightning. Bolt moved his head to the side, letting a metal arrow fly past. He continued dodging arrows, watching the others around him.

He sprinted at the wolf faunus, kicking him in the leg. Bolt jumped over the faunus, catching another arrow as he landed. He quickly threw it back, resulting in an explosion of ice as it made contact. Bolt blocked a strike from the bunny faunus, parrying him off to the side. The faunus ran around Bolt, circling him like a vulture. He then charged him, his Jian cloaked in wind. Bolt backed up as his opponent striked, waiting for him to slip up. He fired a wind blast at Bolt, who quickly grabbed Rosé and launched himself upward and dodged the attack. As he landed, he fired on the faunus, blasting him away.

Bolt turned, hearing an airship above them. He immediately ran towards Aaron, knowing that they needed to leave. Aaron jumped back as a greatsword was slammed down in front of him. He unsheathed Toggle, blocking strikes from a white haired girl's dual katars. The blade of her weapons retracted, allowing her to fire bullets at Aaron. He quickly blocked the bullets, sending a wave of fire at the girl. Before Aaron could continue attacking, he felt someone grip onto his shirt.

"Sorry, but we're leaving." Bolt said, not giving Aaron a chance to rebuttal. He spun around, throwing Aaron up towards the airship. Bolt turned towards the group of students, waving to them as he vanished, barely dodging a sword slash.

Bolt reappeared next to Aaron on the ramp, picking up his Kukri from the ground. Aaron stood, glaring at Bolt as he walked inside. "What the hell?!"

"Dude, we were outnumbered. Chill out." Aaron groaned, knowing he was right. He nor Bolt had defeated any of the students, there was just too many and too little time to deal with them.

"Fine, but that was a tie."

"Whatever." Bolt waved him off, ignoring him as he set his sword down. "We'll settle it when we get back."

* * *

**Coming up: Conflict at Cinder's**


	21. Conflict at Cinder's

**Setting: ****Abandon City**

Duke stood outside with Sunlight and Moonlight, waiting for them to prep themselves. Sunlight and Moonlight created a quick plan that fit in with the rules Duke set; no semblances allowed. They planned to have Sunlight overwhelm Duke with attack while Moonlight finds an opening to take him down. Duke already knew what the girls were going to do, mostly. He knew that they would utilize Sunlight's offensive ability to overpower him, and have Moonlight come up with a way to beat him. The two girls were just like Cinder; one had her strength and fighting prowess, and the other had her intelligence and strategic mindset. He prepared his shield with Hard-Light Dust. Using the dust extended the size of his shield, allowing him to block more attacks with a wider range.

Soon, the sparring match began with Sunlight rushing him. Just like Duke expected. He quickly raised his shield, deflecting her attack. Sunlight pivoted her foot, spinning to strike Duke in the side with her spear. His shield met her spear, deflecting it once again. He grabbed onto her arm, pulling her turns him as he tripped her. While Sunlight distracted Duke, Moonlight aimed her rifle at Duke. She fired Fire dust at him, which he quickly blocked with ease. Duke dodged the sneak attack from Sunlight, jumping up in the air to throw the shield at Moonlight. The dark haired twin dodged the shield, rushing forward as she shifted her rifle into a sword. Duke jumped back as both girls attacked him at once, creating a small crater where he once stood. He activated the magnetic panels in his glove, rushing towards the two girls.

He jumped over both of their weapons, catching his shield as it flew back at him. He landed behind them, causing the girls to turn. They rushed at him again, Duke ready to counter. He parried Sunlight off to the side, blocking Moonlight's sword with his shield. She pushed against his shield, trying to overpower him, but he stood his ground. He pushed off the ground, forcing the girl back. She stumbled back, dodging a follow up strike from Duke. She watched as Sunlight ran up, jumping up and above Duke, raising her spear overhead. She swung downwards, only to have Duke block it with his shield. He then grabbed onto her spear, throwing her along with it towards her sister, causing the two to collide into each other.

Duke walked up to the girls as they untangled themselves from each other. "That was a good session, girls."

"Dammit." Sunlight groaned as she laid on the ground, looking up at the sky, annoyed that she was beat. "I'll beat you next time."

"Sure you will, Sunlight." Duke chuckled, he helped both girls up.

"Do you have any tips?" Moonlight asked, hands behind her back, standing like an obedient student.

"Well, I've noticed that when you two aren't using your semblances, you tend to stop working together." Duke said, Sunlight rolling her eyes and Moonlight nodding in understanding. "I suggest that you two to fight together rather than take on targets on your own."

"I-"

"Dammit, Mercury! How many times do I have to tell you that it's just not that simple!" A familiar voice yelled out, cutting Sunlight off. It was Emerald, yelling at Mercury.

"Well then. You two spar, I'll go see what that is about." Duke suggested, quickly walking back into the town.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want Mom to kill Mercury." Sunlight laughed, wishing she could see it.

Duke walked back into town, the screaming voice of Emerald and Mercury getting louder as he got closer. He sighed as he came across the current house they were using as a base. The yelling was louder, but muffled. Duke didn't know how he was more sane and mature between those two. Duke opened the door, walking in to see a sight. He saw Mercury and Emerald yelling at each other, fighting over something about the mission. That wasn't the strangest part. The strangest part was the Cinder hadn't stopped them yet. She standing in front of a table, which had their mission plan on it, in deep thought whilst holding her left arm. It was like she didn't hear them, but Duke knew she could. He could tell that she was losing her patience with the two. He walked further into the home, planning to stop them before Cinder exploded.

On his way, he saw Stone sitting down in the corner, his legs in a crossed. That was the most normal thing he saw out of everything. He walked up to the two, pushing them back away from each other. "Okay, you two need to shut up. It's annoying, and childish."

"Up yours, golden boy." Mercury spat, walking off and mumbling to himself. Emerald rolled her eyes, walking off to the other side of the room.

"I'm sorry that I'm the mature one." Duke said sarcastically, earning a middle finger in return.

"Mature my ass. You're just a lap dog who can't speak for himself."

"All of you. Shut. Up." Cinder's voice growled, forcing them both to stop immediately. "Don't ever question me again."

"Cinder, you know I would never question you, but don't you think that this is unnecessary? I mean, we could've ended this when we got here by killing Bolt as soon as we saw him." Mercury said and Duke regrettably agreed. This fight was getting pointless, and annoying.

"Cinder, as much as I hate to agree with _him_, he is right." Emerald said, glaring at Mercury as she emphasized. "We can't keep this up for long. Those four are getting better and better at combating us everyday that they walk. They have no trouble with the Twins, and they'll eventually make their way to us. We have to take them down as soon as possible."

Cinder was going to retaliate, but stopped as she thought about it. Emerald was right. She sighed as she accepted her words. "You're right."

"What?" Emerald whispered, her eyes widened with shock and confusion. She never heard Cinder admit that she was wrong, even when they were alone.

"Come on, you listen to her?!" Duke chuckled at Mercury, he could be such a child.

"Let me finish," Cinder glared, shutting Mercury up. "You're right, and that's why I asked you to use your illusion to confuse them."

"How does that help with the situation?" Duke asked, leaning against the wall.

"We're going to war with Bolt Rai, and I am going to kill him." Cinder declared, the Maiden's power bursting out from her eyes. "We will carry out Salem's will."

"Hell yeah!" Mercury cheered, happy that they were finally completing the mission.

"Let's do it." Emerald smiled at Cinder, causing her to hide her face and look away as she blushed.

"Let's kill Bolt Rai." Duke agreed.

**Setting: Team AMBR's Shared Living Room**

Rae walked into the shared living room, looking for her teammates. They needed to plan out how they were going to defeat Cinder, but everything Rae tried to get a discussion going, everyone blew her off. Rae decided that the next time she saw the three, that she would force them into listening. Luckily as she walked into, all three of her teammates were in the living room. Bolt was sitting at a table, ear buds in as she assumed he was listening to music. Aaron was half way in the refrigerator, obviously looking for food to stuff his face with. Mystic was on her Scroll, possibly playing a game. She stomped up towards the three, her stomps loud enough to gained the attention of Bolt and Mystic, who stopped what they were doing and focused on her.

"Hey, what's up, Rae?" Bolt questioned, putting his Scroll away.

"You know exactly what's up. We. Need. A. Plan!" Rae practically ordered, walking up to the coffee table.

"I mean, do we?" Aaron questioned as he walked up, his mouth full of food. "Sure she has a weapon that can stop Bolt's semblance, but it's not like he can't fight her without it."

"She has a _what_?" Rae growled between her teeth, making Aaron cringe.

"No one told you?" Aaron looked at the others, who avoided eye contact. "Okay, yeah. Our bad."

"I'll get over it if we make a plan to stop Cinder so that my paranoia can go away." Rae practically pleaded, clearly frustrated with the three.

"Yeah, okay. What do we need to plan for, besides the obvious?" Mystic asked as the others met at the table. Aaron plopped down on the nearby couch, continuing to eat.

"Well, first things first, we need a way to deal with Cinder." Aaron popped up, intrigued by the topic.

"Can't Bolt or Aaron just take her down? I mean, isn't that what you're trained to do." Mystic asked, looking over to Bolt for an answer.

"Well, yes and no. Compared to the Maidens, the Elementals are extremely limited in power." Bolt explained, arms crossed. "The Maiden have the power to control all of the elements; Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning. Everything. Vortex's Elementals were meant to combat any Maidens, but it would be an "all hands on deck" kind of situation. One Elemental to counter each of the Maiden's powers."

"Wait, they can use multiple elements? Why didn't you tell me this?"

"But we just have Fire and Lightning." Rae added, sadly and annoyed.

"Yeah."

"Can't we just find the others?" Aaron asked, fully sitting up from the couch. "You said those wisps that flew out of the robots are looking for new hosts, right? Then why don't we just find them and ask them to help."

"We can't do that. The essences of the Elementals won't find their new hosts in just two weeks, Aaron."

"Okay then, how long with it take. Another week? Two more weeks, three? A month?" Bolt shook his head at each of Aaron's guesses, causing the pyro to groan. "How long then?"

"Years... maybe," Aaron was silent for a second, before slowly putting his head in his hands.

"What the actual fuck!" Aaron groaned loudly, falling backwards into the couch.

"So, we can't wait for anymore Elementals. That ideas useless. What about you two teaming up against her?" Rae asked, looking at the two boys.

"We can't. We won't be able to get to her if we don't deal with the others." Bolt reminded her. Cinder may be the main target, but it's going to be impossible to take her down if her faction is in the way.

"Right, we can deal with Cinder together. Let's focus on the others, specifically Stone." Rae said, causing the two boys to groan. Even hearing his name reminded them of the swift hit to their prides when they were humiliated by him.

"Oh right, I forgot about him." Mystic looked up at the others, seeing that the three of them shared the same face. Annoyance. Even Rae held a grudge against Stone. "How can we deal with him?"

"I...I don't know." Rae sighed sadly, lowering her head. "Dammit, why is this so difficult?!"

"Okay, let's back track. Let's go up the hierarchy." Aaron said, bringing attention to him. "We can handle the Twins no problem, we know that. Mercury's no problem either, I'm calling it."

"Don't be so sure. He's gone up against two of my friends. He's a formidable opponent." Bolt corrected, Aaron rolling his eyes in return.

"Whatever. Back to what I was saying, next on the list is Duke." Aaron continued, in which Mystic prompted up.

"Oh! Right, easy. Just don't let him touch you with his semblance, and disarm him." Mystic said proudly, earning a smile from the others.

"Pretty much, yeah." Bolt agreed. "Next is Emerald."

"That shouldn't be too big of a problem." Aaron spoke up. "We just make sure that we don't let her manipulate us, help each other when needed, and have Bolt free us when she has all of us."

"Why me?"

"Because you weren't affected by her illusions the last time." Aaron responded, confidently.

"Okay. Leave it to me."

"Now, the hard parts. Stone and Cinder."

"Well, depending on how this goes, we can fight against them both together or at separate times."

"No, we need an actual plan." Rae said, realizing the point of their conversation. "Sure we can deal with her faction, but we need an actual plan for those two."

"Look, I know this may sound strange coming from me, but let Bolt handle Cinder." Aaron said, earning confused looks.

"You're right, that is strange of you to say." Rae agreed, thinking of the possible alter motives he could be planning.

"I'm serious. Bolt's the most skilled at fighting Maidens here, specifically Cinder." Aaron explained. "He's fought against her the most out of all of us. I mean, he was trained to fight them. He'll be fine."

Rae looked over to Bolt, who shrugged. "Okay, fine. But what about Stone?"

"The three of us can deal with him. We'll have already beaten the others, Bolt can handle Cinder, and we take Stone. Simple." Aaron said, looking between the three. "Are we all good with the plan?"

"I mean, if it's the best we got." Bolt shrugged.

"Yeah, okay." Mystic agreed.

"Fine. Let's just hope nothing else happens." Rae gave in, face-palming.

"Alright, now what do we do?" Aaron asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, I have an idea for that." Bolt smirked, which Aaron visibly didn't like.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" Aaron crossed his arms, glaring at him.

"Sparring."

* * *

**Coming up**: **Building up to the Finale**


	22. Building up to the Finale

**Setting: Agradia Castle's Training Room **

Bolt and Aaron stood on opposite sides of the area, eyes locked. Bolt didn't remember why, but they were both shirtless, most likely Aaron's idea. They both stood motionless, waiting for the other to move. Aaron had his sword in his hands. He had wanted to test his new sword out on Bolt, since he didn't get to when he first got it, and decided that this would be a great time to do so. Bolt held his hands above his pistols, ready to rip them off of his hips. He was prepared to show Aaron his newly upgraded weapons up close. Rae and Mystic stood off to the side, knowing that the boys would go overboard with their spar, not wanting to be in the way. Rae thought of all the ways that this training session could go wrong while Mystic was trying not to stare at Bolt.

Aaron finally decided that he was tired of standing still, and used his semblance to propel himself forward. Aaron activated the Dust in his sword, slashing at Bolt as he got closer. Bolt jumped back, dodging the attack as a ice slash appeared where he once stood. Bolt was shocked. He didn't think Aaron would use Ice Dust. He grabbed onto his pistols, activating Shotgun Mode. Aaron charged at Bolt again, ready to attack. Bolt aimed his pistols downward, launching himself up and over Aaron, shocking the boy as he did so. Aaron activated the Fire Dust in his weapon, sending a fire slash up at Bolt, who dodged it by firing his pistols in front of him. He flung himself backwards, skidding on the ground as he landed.

"When did you actually start using Dust?" Bolt questioned.

"I don't know. I guess... yesterday?" Aaron shrugged.

"Yeah, okay, guess that's fair." Bolt dodged Aaron's attack once again, aiming his pistol at the pyro.

Bolt fired the shot at Aaron, launching them both backwards. Aaron quickly caught himself, using his semblance to take off to the skies. Aaron was surprised by Bolt's new upgrades, but that wasn't going to stop him from winning. Aaron charged at Bolt, fire bursting out from his feet and he flew down. He swung his sword hard, creating a gust of wind as it collided with Bolt's pistols. Bolt held his ground, his feet digging into the ground from blocking Aaron's attack. Bolt parried him off to the side, causing him to tumble across the ground. Bolt ran after Aaron, who stopped himself by stabbing his sword into the ground. Bolt pulled out his sword, dodging a swipe from Aaron's, jumping over the blade. Bolt slashed at Aaron, who blocked it with his sword. The two smirked at each other, fire cloaking Aaron's body. He used his strength to push Bolt back.

Bolt quickly recovered from the tumble, using the momentum to flip up and fire from his pistol, propelling Aaron back to the edge of the area. Aaron laughed as he charged in, fire continuing to burst from his feet. Bolt met him in the middle, jumping over the boy, and grabbed onto him and throwing him back. Aaron recovered easily, pulling out Zoom, and raining fire down upon Bolt. Bolt easily deflected the bullets, running around Aaron to limit him. Aaron stopped firing as Bolt became to fast for him to see, watching as a blur ran around him. Aaron waited for Bolt to attack, which he did. Bolt suddenly jumped at Aaron, swinging his sword as he did so. Aaron brought his sword up, blocking the attack. He followed up by pushing him back, charging at him as he landed.

Aaron tackled Bolt before he could dodge, which was followed by a small explosion that launched Bolt across the field. Bolt rolled across the ground, catching himself by throwing his sword behind him and landing on it, using it to stop himself. Bolt looked toward Aaron, bringing them back to a similar position to the beginning of the spar, waiting for the other to move. Rae and Mystic continued to watch from the side, or rather Rae was watching while Mystic tried not to. Rae looked over at her faunus friend, confused by her facial expression.

"Are you okay?" She asked, causing Mystic's to turn at her with a face of shock.

"...No, not really." Mystic said through her hands.

"What's the matter? You seem like you're going to die if someone looks at you." Rae questioned, holding back a laugh. Her gaze followed Mystic's, seeing the two boys, specifically Bolt. Her eyes widened as she came to the realization. "Oh... You really have it bad for him, huh?"

"Y-Yes." Mystic stuttered, in embarrassment. "Can we do something. I need to focus on something else."

"Sure." Rae jumped up from the table they were sitting on, grabbing Nightswift and walking to an empty space. "Let's train. The boys can't have all the fun."

"Yeah, let's do that." Mystic quickly agreed, grabbing Ashwood and her quiver, following Rae.

"Whenever you're ready." Rae said, waiting for Mystic to calm down.

"Okay, yeah, I'm ready." Mystic said, taking a deep breath before firing an arrow at Rae. She quickly dodged the arrow, shifting her weapons into baton form as she ran at Mystic.

Mystic dodged strikes from Rae's weapons, quickly rolled out of the way as she swung her sticks at her. Rae continued her attacks, with Mystic using her bow to block the strikes. As the faunus found an opening, she jump back, firing another arrow. The arrow exploded on contact, which launched them both back. They simultaneously skidded across the ground, with Mystic recovering quicker with her cat-like reflexes. She shifted her weapon into it's axe form as she charged at Rae. Rae flipped back as Mystic swung her axe down, barely dodging the large weapon. Rae was honestly shocked at how Mystic could hold the weapon at times, but she never could ask about it.

Rae shifted her weapons, firing down on Mystic. The faunus blocked the bullets, throwing an Ice Dust arrow on the ground in front of her, creating an ice wall between them. Rae activated the Wind Dust in her weapons, using the wind to propel herself up and over the wall. Before she could follow up, a sudden wave of heat overcame them, causing the girls to stop their movements instantly. They both turned to see Aaron using his skill, Heat Wave, severely heating up the room.

Bolt was profusely sweating from the heat. He knew Aaron was responsible for the the heat, and he was getting extremely tired by it. He was breathing heavily, feeling that he would pass out soon. Aaron charged at Bolt, using his semblance to boost himself. Bolt's eyes widened as he was tackled, crashing into the side of the arena. Through the smoke, Bolt appeared, flying across the air. He tumbled across the ground, skidding to a stop. Aaron bursted through the smoke, landing in front of Bolt. Bolt looked up at him, both sweating and breathing heavily.

"You... give up?" Aaron questioned in between breathes, hands on his knees.

"Yeah, sure." Bolt said sarcastically, raising his hand up for help. Aaron grabbed Bolt's hand, the heat in the area slowly dissipating, and helping him up to his feet.

"Yes! Take that!" Aaron cheered, jumping around in glee. Bolt rolled his eyes as the boy danced around, the girls walking over to see the commotion. "That's 21-20 to me baby!"

"No. _I've_ won 21. That was your 20th win." Bolt corrected, Aaron stopping his cheering and slowly looked back. His face had shock, slight fear, and worry written all over it. He hoped that Bolt was lying.

"No, no. I've won 21...right?" Aaron looked over to the girls, who shrugged at their feud. "Come on! You can't be above me by one point!"

"Sorry, man." Bolt chuckled. Rae laughed as they walked towards the door to the training room, with Aaron glaring at the green haired girl. "I'm just better."

"Okay, don't need to be a dick about it." Aaron growled, walking ahead of the others.

"Oh come on, don't be a baby." Rae said as they walked, holding in her laughs. "It's just a sparring match. I mean, you should be happy that you at least beat Bolt, and that I saw it this time. Now I believe you."

"Yeah, you just need one more and we're even." Bolt reassured, only to receive an eye roll in return.

"You know what'll make you feel better?" Mystic started, placing her hands on Aaron's shoulders, causing him to glance at her. "Food?"

Aaron's eyes widened, realizing how hungry he now was. He instantly took off in a sprint, running towards their shared living room/kitchen. The others chuckled as he ran through the hall, practically breaking the door down as he ran into the room.

**Setting: Team AMBR's Shared Living Room**

After an hour of Aaron raiding the refrigerator, he walked over to the others, face full of food. The others sat on colored beanbags in the corner of the living area, sitting in front of a large, circular window. Bolt was laid out on a blue beanbag, playing a game on his Scroll. Rae was writing in a notebook, possibly writing down strategies for later use. Mystic was checking her ammo, putting dust crystals in her modified arrows to replace the ones she used. Aaron sat down in front of the others, finishing the last of his food. The group sat in silence, none looking up from their respective activities. Aaron looked at each one of his teammates, bored out of his mind. He wanted to get up and do something, not just sitting around.

"You know what? Since we're here, literally not doing anything, we should try bonding." Aaron said excitedly as he stood up, bringing attention to him. The other knew that something bad was going to happen, just by how big Aaron's smile was. There had to be a catch to this.

"Bonding? You want to do team bonding?" Aaron nodded with a big smile on his face. "Who are you and where's the real Aaron?"

"Haha, very funny. I'm serious." Aaron said, causing Rae to sigh and close her notebook.

"Okay, what do you want to do then?" She asked, wondering what the pyro could want to do.

"I don't know, maybe we could tell each other about our back stories." Aaron suggested, quickly speaking before anyone could respond. "I mean, we were practically forced to become a team, and we somewhat know each other. Let's tell each other about ourselves."

"Well, I mean, it's good idea but you guys already know my life story." Bolt put his Scroll away before walking over to the kitchen. "And how my past literally came back to kill me, so..."

"Same here." Rae spoke up, following Bolt towards the kitchen and sitting down at the counter top. "You all already know about my family and how I want nothing to do with them. There's nothing else for me to really say."

"Okay then, since you two have nothing to say, I'll go first. I'll start with something simple." Aaron rolled his eyes, knowing that he would get those answers from those two. "My name isn't actually Aaron Neon."

"Yeah, no shit. Who's names their kid Aaron Neon?" Bolt said mockingly, handing Rae a water while he grabbed himself a soda. Aaron turned and glared at the boy, who laughed in return. "I mean, "Aaron" is embarrassing enough."

"Anyways, my actual name is Aaron Roux." He stated, only to receive silence from his teammates. The three looked at each other, looking to one another for reactions. Bolt softly chuckled, those chuckles soon turning into a full on laugh. Rae soon joined him, slamming her hand rapidly on the counter as she did so. Mystic, not wanting to hurt Aaron's feelings, covered her mouth as she held in a laugh. "You guys make it real hard to open up."

"Really? _That_ was the big reveal?" Bolt laughed, holding onto his stomach as he laughed loudly. Rae did the same, laying on the counter as she laughed at Aaron. Aaron crossed his arms and huffed, waiting for the two to finish.

"Guys, don't laugh at him." Mystic spoke up, calming herself down. Bolt and Rae whipped tears from their faces, slowly calming down from their laughter.

"So-sorry. It's just, you made it seem like a big deal." Bolt said, fully calming down.

"Yeah, um, is there more?" Rae asked, slowly returning to her mature self. "I mean, you had to change your name for a reason, right?"

"Obviously, yeah." Aaron said, playing with his thumbs. "I'll keep the reasoning brief."

Aaron sat down on the coffee table behind him as he took a deep breath. "So, my dad was an asshole growing up. He barely cared about me, or my family. The only thing he cared out was power, and having the strongest family around."

Rae could see Aaron getting angrier as he was telling his story. She had a feeling that she knew what the story was, but she wasn't going to interrupt the story. "He would, uh, beat me and my siblings for not being better. He wanted a child like him, and he couldn't get it from my brother or my two sisters. What did he want exactly? He wanted someone with the same semblance as him, the destructive power to manipulate fire."

"And he got that from you?" Mystic asked, causing Aaron to let out a small chuckle.

"That's what he thought. In a way, he got what he wanted, just not in the way he wanted." Aaron said, confusing the others. "He basically wanted an exact clone of himself; someone who was selfish, cunning, and had the power to manipulate fire."

"Let me guess, your brother was the selfish one, one of your sisters are the cunning one, and you are the one who can manipulate fire?" Rae finished, slightly smirking as Aaron looked at her in amazement. She shrugged. "I had a gut feeling."

"Well, yeah basically." Aaron nodded.

"What about your other sister, or your mother?" Bolt asked, his mouth speaking before his brain could think.

"Mom died when we were young, to "mysterious causes". None of us believed it. It was obviously a lie, but none of us were brave enough to question it, except for our younger sister. I-" Aaron suddenly stopped, taking a deep breath. "I think that's enough."

"Yeah, it's okay. No need to go all the way." Aaron nodded once again, keeping his eyes to the ground.

"So... who's next?" Aaron jokingly asked, only to have Mystic step up. The other's eyes were widened, almost impossibly as Mystic happily stepped up. Aaron held his hands up in defense as Bolt and Rae glared at him. "I swear I was kidding."

"Hold on, it's not a tragic story. Not really." Mystic reassured, making sure that the two didn't attempt to kill Aaron. "My story is simple really. My parents wanted to make sure that the White Fang couldn't track me down, so they change my name to Mystic Park. My name, originally, was Mystic Aureole."

"Oh, that was simple." Bolt thought aloud.

"That's a cute name." Aaron said, Bolt whipping his head towards him.

"Did you just say cute?" Bolt said mockingly, but Aaron knew the real reason why he asked.

"Sure, why not?" Aaron shrugged.

"Well, if we're done with the back stories," Rae said, bringing attention to her. "We should all rest. We have a big day tomorrow. We have to be at our best if we want to beat Cinder."

"She's right," Bolt agreed. "We need to win, or we lose indefinitely."

"For the future on 3?" Aaron looked around at his teammates, everyone on the same page. "1... 2... 3!"

"For the future!"

* * *

**Aaron and Mystic reveal their real last names, after keep them to themselves for years. I decided to do this so that Aaron and Mystic can fit the color naming rule of RWBY. **

**Aaron's last name, Roux, can be translated to red or redhead in French.**

**Mystic's last name, A****ureole, is ****Latin**** for ****golden.**

**Coming up: The New Alpha**


	23. The New Alpha

**Setting: Autumn's Office**

Autumn said in her office, once again drowned in paperwork. She honestly didn't even remember what half of it was for. All she knew was that the paper work was for the combat school in Solace and the academy in Agradia. Thankfully, the paper work wasn't much. All she had to do was choose whether to sign on the dotted line or not. Normally, it would take 2 to 3 hours of consistent work for someone to finish, but that was never the case with Autumn. When it comes to her queenly duties, Autumn was a procrastinator, and it was currently showing as she leaned back in her chair. She could always find something to distract herself, and this distraction was her worry of her girlfriend. The scientist had been in her lab more often, not coming out until it was normally time for bed. She was even mumbling in her sleep, each sentence centered around one thing. Alpha. Or at least that's what Autumn thought it was.

So, instead of finishing the paperwork, she decided to check up of Sierra. Before she left her office, she used her semblance, creating a lightning warrior. She instructed the summon to sign the papers for her, leaving the naming process to her. She waved her creation goodbye, making her way through the castle and towards her love's lab. Autumn walked throughout the halls, waving to the maids and castle guards. Sadly, a lot of them feared her. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she would make sure to be as friendly as she could to her people. Autumn turned to the nearest window, seeing an airship leaving the docks.

Team AMBR had just departed on their mission to save the future. They didn't have time to announce their departure, and Autumn understood that. She was honestly jealous that they get to save the future. She was worried for her brother, she just wish she was a Huntress again. She wished that she was able to go out, without having loads of people tell her that it's too dangerous. Autumn was brought out of her thoughts as she came up to Sierra's Lab. She knocked a few times, only to not receive an answer. This worried her greatly. Sierra is never late to answer the door. She carefully opened the door, ready to combat any invaders.

**Setting: Sierra's Lab**

Autumn walked into the Lab, seeing that it was mess. More of a mess than usual. Autumn pushed through the boxes of failed inventions and experiments, slowly making her way through the lab. The boxes Sierra had loads of boxes stacked up in her lab. Autumn had someone create a storage unit for her, but somehow Sierra had managed to create more items than the storage unit could hold. As Autumn made her way closer to Sierra, she came across boxes that held old files from her Vortex days. Autumn was surprised that she hadn't burned them, with the trauma that it originates from. Autumn pulled out a piece of paper from an opened box, reading the information on it.

_"THETA MODEL B." _

Autumn read the blueprints, seeing red circles and arrows at certain areas on Theta's body. Autumn guessed that Sierra was trying to find weaknesses in Theta, but it's not needed now. Autumn sighed with relief as she could see a clearing through the forest of boxes. Autumn pushed the last tower of boxes over, allowing her access to the clearing, and what she saw shocked her.

Sierra was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself as she continuously looked around for something. She had looked like she'd gone insane, or that she hadn't slept in days. The scene worried Autumn. She'd never seen Sierra act like this, not even when she was worried about Coldwell's true plans. She was calm about that situation, at least compare to her current state. Autumn then decided that she had had enough of watching her girlfriend go crazy, and called out to her.

"Babe?" Autumn called out, only to be ignoring as Sierra continued to frantically run around the lab.

"Dammit! Where's experiment 37B?!" Sierra yelled, throwing boxes and moving things around. Autumn watched as her girlfriend ran around like a crazed maniac. She was worried about her, but now she was scared for her. The queen walked up, grabbing the woman by her shoulders and turning her to face the taller woman.

"Okay, look. There is obviously something wrong, and I want you to tell me. I will not take any lie as an answer." Autumn said, looking Sierra directly in the eyes. She then released the woman, stepping back and waiting for her answer.

"W-well I... I, um," Sierra stuttered as she tried to find an acceptable answer, but sighed as she couldn't. "It'll be better if I show you."

Autumn nodded, following her girlfriend to her computers. Autumn looked at her multi-screen setup, seeing all the different things she had up. One monitor was a black screen, other than a blinking blue dot. As Autumn looked at the screen, she could see faint gold lines that were in a similar shape of familiar places. Autumn then realized that the dot was a person, and the gold lines were the outline of Remnant. She was tracking Bolt.

Autumn's gaze went to the next monitor, which had blueprints for more invention she had. One invention, however, caught Autumn's eye. From what she could see, it appeared to be a dust crystal. Before Autumn could ask, Sierra spoke up.

"I'm preparing..." She trailed off sadly, which didn't help Autumn's worry.

"For what?" She asked, only for Sierra to press a key on her keyboard.

Autumn's attention was then shifted to the third monitor, which was now playing a video.

As the video started, Autumn could see a pitch-black haired woman forcing her way out of a pod. The woman, stumbling, walked over towards a desk, looking at the computer on top if it. The woman caught herself on the desk, looking up as the computer seemed to have turned on. Suddenly, the video glitched out, skipping forward. The woman, in a blind rage, destroyed the computer and the desk it sat on. The woman then stomped out of the room and out into the hall. As she made her way out of the building, she stopped as she kicked a box. She looked in the box, seeing old robot parts that Alpha stole. What happened next shocked Autumn immensely. With the wave of the woman's hands, the parts moved, slowly creating to humanoid figures.

One of the figures was a male. He had several gold rings on his body. He hair brown hair and red eyes that looked at the black haired woman with happiness. The other was a girl. She had two large jet boosters on the middle of her back, as well as brown hair and eyes. The woman looked at the two, like two happy children. The scene freaked Autumn out. She never liked robots, and seeing their beady eyes terrified her even more.

_"What can we do for you, ma'am?"_ They said simultaneously, which didn't help Autumn's dislike for robots. Hell, it made it worse.

_"Don't call me ma'am. Makes me feel old. Call me... Alpha. I think I'll call you... Psi and Eta." _The woman said with a devilish smirk, placing her hands on both of their cheeks. _"Now, come along. We have a mission to accomplish." _

The video then ended, leaving Autumn stunned and spooked. She looked down at her girlfriend, who had her hands in her head. This was serious. Even Autumn knew that. Whoever this woman was, was a giant threat. A threat to Agradia, a threat to Remnant. This woman could make robots out of thin air. That was still a shock to her. Autumn was almost speechless.

"What was that?"

"I went through the Alpha's memory file, and out of all the corrupted files, only the location of his secret base was accessible." She answered, closing the video and turning to face Autumn. "So, I hacked into the camera's and that video is what I found."

"Who is that?" Autumn asked, the image of the pitch-black haired woman imprinted in her mind.

"It's _her_." Was the vague answer. "The Elemental of Destruction."

"What?" Autumn questioned, tilting her head in the classic Rai Twins way. Sierra rolled her eyes. Autumn forgot already.

"The Alpha Female, or as Coldwell called her, Cycla. You know, the one we were trying to prevent from being created." Sierra reminded the woman, who's mouth opened in an O shape.

"Oh... Oh shit. This is even worse than I thought it was." She said surprised, hands jetting to her head in worry.

"That's exactly why I was freaking out." Sierra said, looking back towards the woman. "We're in trouble, Autumn."

"Yeah, I know." She agreed, sighing. "Shouldn't we tell Bolt? I mean-"

"No! No, we can't." Sierra sound scared. Scared to tell Bolt. It made Autumn's heart sink. "Not yet."

"What? Why?" Autumn questioned, assuming an answer.

"He's too busy with saving the future. I can't have him worry about a new Alpha while he's trying to save the future."

"Babe, he's a big boy. He can handle it." Autumn said, wrapping her arms around Sierra. "But I think you're right. Hopefully, he saves the future. And then, we tell him. Okay?"

Sierra nodded, holding onto Autumn's hand. "Yeah, okay."

"Good. Now, we're going to get you to bed. I check in on the team later." Autumn said as she walked the scientist towards the exit of the Lab, making sure that her girlfriend gets proper sleep.

**Setting: Outside of the Abandoned Village**

After waking up early morning and preparing their, Team AMBR set out to the abandoned village. Luckily, the airship ride was quick, having only taken them an hour to arrive. They landed miles from the village, making sure that they weren't seen. Bolt then used his semblance and brought them all closer, landing them at the edge of the forest close by. Rae scouted the village, seeing that it was clear to move. She motioned to the others, prompting them to move toward the village. They slow walked up to the village, stealthy making their way to the village, per Rae's suggestion. Aaron wanted to go in guns blazing, but was quickly shot down. They needed to have a strategy. This battle meant the fate of the future. They couldn't have any mistakes to their plan.

Suddenly, as the four made their way towards the village, Mystic's ears twitched. She heard a familiar sound of weapons reloading. She quickly looked around for the source, seeing nothing but abandoned land. The faunus had a strange feeling that something was going to happen. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew it wasn't good. Before she could say anything, Bolt was deflecting a bullet. The group was soon bombarded by bullets, pinning them down behind the debris around.

"Shit! What the hell is happening?!" Aaron yelled over the chaos, keeping his head down as the bullets flew over him.

Bolt quickly peaked over the slab of rock he hid against, seeing two familiar figures using their range weapons against them. He got back behind cover, barely dodging a spear as it flew at him. "It's Sunlight and Moonlight! We're pinned!"

"Dammit! Our plan was perfect! How did they know?!"

Mystic knew it. They were prepared.

* * *

**The name Cycla comes from the color Cyclamen, which comes from the flower of the same name. It is a shade of pink.**

**Coming up: Introducing Plasma**


	24. Introducing Plasma

**A/N: I don't own any of the characters associated with the RWBY series. All rights belong to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

**Setting: Abandon City**

Team AMBR hid behind the cover of broken buildings and rubble as the Twins open fired on them. The cover helped with Moonlight's bullets, but not so much with Sunlight's spear as it broke through the cover due to it's speed. Bolt, Aaron, and Mystic pulled out their ranged weapons, returning fire on the Twins. Rae took that time to scan the area, seeing the two Twins taking cover from the boy's bullets. She also saw Cinder, and her faction, coming out from their hiding spots and moving in on them. They were outnumbered greatly. Bolt's plan for a surprise attack completely failed. It was like they knew this would happen. The group stopped as Cinder did, watching the Twins pin Team AMBR down. Rae saw the smirk on Cinder's face, and that pissed her off to no end.

After a few minutes of back and forth fire, Cinder waved her hand, commanding the Twins to stop. They complied, Moonlight putting her rifle away while Sunlight called her spear back. The two walked back to Cinder, allowing Team AMBR to come out of their cover. The four slowly stood up, looking at Cinder and her faction, ready for any surprises. Cinder stood in the middle, with Stone on her right and Mercury on her left. Emerald stood on Mercury's left side, while Duke was next to Stone. The Twins were behind them, waiting for their chance to fight again.

As the two groups stared each other down, Rae was thinking back to the plan. Their plan was to go down the list, starting with the Twins. With how things were going, that definitely wasn't happening. She thought of replacement plans, but all of them ended in failure. Her first plan was to go straight to Cinder and Stone, since they were the biggest threats. She ended up disregarding that plan, knowing that both will be difficult targets to take down, no matter what. Even if Bolt and Aaron went at full strength, and were completely focused. Not to mention the others that will get in the way.

Rae then thought about taking out the others first, and leaving Cinder and Stone for last. She also debunked that plan, knowing that Stone will make sure that won't happen. Rae was lost. She had no plan, each one she came up with always ended up in failure or with complications. All she had left was hope. Hope, that they would somehow win against these monsters, or that one of the others had a plan.

"Well well, we meet again." Cinder spoke up as Stone walked up to Team AMBR, ready to fight. "I thought you agreed to my offer? Guess you saw through Emerald's illusions. Don't know what I expected, honestly. But this is the final time we speak, Team AMBR. I will carry out my mission, and destroy you."

"Bolt, I'm not losing to this guy again!" Aaron exclaimed, grabbing the teen's attention, talking about Stone.

"Yeah, I know. I don't want to either." Bolt said, holding his neck as he cracked it, preparing himself for a fight.

Mystic gasped as a idea came to her. "Wait! Guys! I think I have an idea."

The two boys turned as Mystic looked to Rae. "Remember that thing we found, Rae?"

"What thing?" Rae questioned, her eyes widened as she remembered what Mystic was talking about. "Oh, you mean that thing we found, from the Elemental Archives?"

"Yeah, that thing. I think it would help us greatly here." Mystic confirmed.

"Elemental Archives? The hell you guys talking about?!" Aaron asked, looking at the two. He mad that Stone and Cinder were taunting him, and confused that the girls knew something that he didn't.

"It's called Elemental Fusion, or I think that's what it read. It's some sort of combing ritual that fuses the two elements of two Elementals, or something like that. From what Rae and I read, the only two to ever do it were Fire and Lightning."

"Of course they were." Bolt muttered.

"What?! Me?! Fuse bodies- Physically combine my body with his and- No way!" Aaron exclaimed, arms crossed. "I'd rather get my ass kicked again."

"Yeah girls, I don't know about this. I'd rather fight Stone in my own body." Bolt said, hoping that it wasn't the only plan.

"Guys! It's the only way, Stone kicked your asses with ease last time. Sure you may have Raijin, but it won't help you if you're the last one standing." Rae scolded, stopping Bolt from countering her statement.

"No, I refuse. I'll take Stone down myself." Aaron said, about to walk over to Stone.

"You two are just stubborn idiots! You always want to handle things with sheer force and with no plan. You know what, go ahead, let the future down, I don't care anymore." Rae said, disappointed in the boys. She knew she was making them feel guilty, it was her plan.

The boys sighed as they looked at each other. "Fine, we'll do it."

"Thank you." She said, her face returning to normal.

"Okay, let's do this." Mystic sat down on the floor and rubbed her hands on her pants.

"A combination between two stubborn boys, huh?" Rae thought aloud, sighing as she looked at the two. _"This has got to be the worse idea we've ever had, but it's all we've got. We don't stand a chance on our own."_

"Hey, Stone. You want a challenge, right?" Bolt asked as he turned back around to see Stone come to a stop at Bolt words. "Same as us. So, please, let us try something."

Stone thought about the proposition. He turned to Cinder, wondering what her answer was. She thought about this as well. All she wanted to do was kill Bolt and go home. She had no clue of what they were trying to do, and it slightly scared her. Even though she had this fear, she nodded, giving them the time. Her allies found this surprising.

"Cinder, are you sure you want to let them do this?" Emerald asked as she looked the Maiden. "I mean, we have no idea what this is. We didn't have a problem with them the last time."

"She's right," Mercury agreed, and he never agrees with Emerald. "We killed Team AMBR last time, expect Bolt, and we haven't seen him since we took Remnant."

"Yeah, but we had Volt and the girl. Why do you think this would be any different?" Duke asked, hands in his pockets.

"Yes. Them gaining more power is bad for us, and Salem."

"Makes sense. They aren't people to be should underestimate. Just let Stone kill them here and now." Duke suggested as he yawned, thinking aloud. "And if we fail, we could sent Aera."

"We're not gonna fail, Duke. Besides, Aera wouldn't want to deal with them, she's to prideful for that." Mercury countered, surprising Duke that he said that out loud.

"Sadly, he is right. Girls, go back to the castle and prepare to bring us back. When I call, you get us out." Cinder ordered the twin girls, confusing them greatly. Sunlight disagreed. She wanted to fight Team AMBR, and humiliate them. Her sister felt the same.

"But we don't-"

"Don't question me! Go. Now." Cinder growled, causing the girls to quickly run off, using a small device on their belts to seamlessly vanish.

Aaron looked down at Mystic, who had her eyes closed as she sat on the floor. He looked to Bolt, who shrugged.

"So, how do this work, Mystic?" Aaron asked. He didn't want to do this, but if it meant beating Stone and saving the future, he'd give up his pride.

"Yeah, tell us what we need to do." Bolt added.

As Mystic sat on the floor, her eyes began to glow purple. The boys looked at her confused. It wasn't her normal Aura color, or one that she gained when using another semblance, and that made them even more skeptical. Rae spoke up for her. "All you two have to do is activate your Elemental aura and just let it happen."

"Elemental aura?" Both boys questioned simultaneously.

"Really? You don't know what that is?! I thought you would at least!" Rae said to Bolt, annoyed at their lack of knowledge.

"Actually, I might." Bolt said, hand to his chin. "I think it's the lightning that covers my body when I use my semblance."

"So for me, that would be the fire that cloaks my body when I use mine?" Aaron questioned, confused at the difference. "I guess that makes sense."

Bolt and Aaron looked at each other again. They didn't talk, nodding as they accepted what was going to happen. "Have you practiced with this?"

"No, we haven't." Aaron frowned almost immediately. "We can't without you two."

"Alright, doesn't sound so bad, right Hothead?" Bolt nodded glancing at the pyro.

"Yeah, if you plan on possibly dying." Bolt elbowed him and he fixed his mistake. "I mean, yeah! I can't wait!"

"You two are impossible." Rae looked over to Cinder. She had a smirk on her face and that ticked her off. She looked back at the boys. "You ready? We don't know what's going to happen with this. It might separate you two mid-fight so, end it quickly. Just in case."

"Yeah, we're ready, I think..." Aaron rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, how will this even work? I better have control, because I will_ not_ let they living light bulb fight using half of my body."

"That shouldn't matter! This is the stake of a peaceful future here, remember?" Rae groaned, not helping Aaron's want of doing this. He dropped it, knowing she was right. "In the archives, there were context clues on being a new entity with the memories of both people, but who knows."

"That's not so bad. Besides, if Mystic can combine us, then she can separate us. So, let's just get this over with." Bolt said as he refaced Stone.

"Exactly! "Might." As in not guaranteed!" Aaron threw his hands in the air.

"Dude! Suck it up."

"Fine!" Aaron nodded as he punched his fists together, fire erupting out from them.

The boys activated their Elemental Auras. Aaron's flared up as fire cloaked his body and Bolt's electrified as lightning surrounded him. Stone was ready to fight once the boys turned back to them. Bolt was right, he wanted a challenge, but he was only here to protect Cinder and she worked with Salem, so that means doing what she says. He was here to protect Cinder during her mission; Kill Bolt Rai, and if she's lucky enough, Team AMBR. The Twins walked around Team AMBR and back to Cinder and stood behind the group.

"Get ready, she's starting." Rae said as Mystic extended her hands.

Her left hand was extended towards Bolt, while her right was extended towards Aaron. They glowed purple as she lifted them up. As her hands went up, so did the boys, making them panic as they were lifted.

"Here we go!" Bolt said as he watched the ground get further away from him.

"I regret this already!" Aaron said with a groan.

Mystic clasped her hands together and the boys flew towards each other, the two screaming as they flew at each other. When they met, a bright, purple, light shined as their bodies merged together.

Cinder looked up at the very bright light attracting her attention. "What's... Did they..?"

"They didn't do that before, right?" Mercury said, covering his eyes from the bright light.

"Must be new." Duke said as he randomly pulled out sunglasses, to help him look at the bright light.

The light then exploded, almost blinding everyone, especially Stone, since he was the closest. As the light dissipated, Rae could see the outline of a person. Rae and Stone both were confused on how two people disappeared and were replaced with one, as well as who this person was.

"Alright!" A voice whooped as a figure jumping from Team AMBR's hiding place and onto a piece of debris above them. "Freedom!"

He stood tall, a cocky smirk on his face. He had a black hoodie, with gray patches of armor here and there. He had matching black baggy pants, with silver zippers, as well as the same gray armor patches. There's a gray sash around his waist, holding up a purple fur pelt with red accents. He also had dark purple shoes that matched his purple eyes. His dark purple hair was disheveled with two of his bangs hanging in a downwards 'V' over his face, one being shorter than the other. He had a black half of a jacket arm guard combination on his left arm. He wore black wristbands, that reached to just about his shoulder. He looked very familiar, to everyone, but not quite.

"Huh, clothes are new." The man said as he looked down at his clothes. "Better than the old ones."

"Who are you? _What_ are you?" Cinder asked for Stone, her eyes narrowed at the smirk on the man's face.

"We are a merged element, a combination of Fire _and_ Lightning, through the combined aspects of Bolt _and_ Aaron. You can call me Plasma." His voice was that of Bolt and Aaron's, overlapping one another as if they were fighting for control. "But this is..."

He squared out his arms, and began pumping out Aura. "Super Plasma!"

Plasma roared, his aura flaring as everyone looked up at him. It was mix of Bolt and Aaron's. He was surrounded in the red Fire of Aaron and the sparks of royal blue Lightning of Bolt. "Let's go!"

Cinder growled, conjuring a fireball in her palm. "Don't think that will allow you to stand up to me!"

Cinder launched her fire sphere, intent on getting killing everyone instantly. Plasma smirked as he caught the attack, holding it one place as he slowly began moving it to the side. Just as he was about to throw it, he instead squeezed the fire ball, causing it to explode in his hand.

"Ha! You really think I'm an amateur?" He yelled out, surprised, but unfazed by the attack. Plasma looked down at the shocked Cinder and her group with a grin. "You think you could take me down with fire, Maiden? Ha! I am fire, as well as lightning!"

"Damn you!"

"Now, I think it's time we end this!" Plasma stayed in the air as he stared down at Cinder and her group. His eyes landed on Stone and he decided float down to the ground.

"Plasma, the Strongest Element. The combination of Bolt and Aaron." Rae was shocked when she saw Plasma. She didn't think the archives were real at first. He looked so much like the two boys, but he was also so different. "Just as cocky as I expected."

Mystic collapsed as soon as it was complete. Rae ran to her side immediately, catching and holding her up before she fell. She was replenishing her Aura, but the girl was still out cold. Mystic wasn't joking when she said that this would take a lot of Aura from her.

_"Hopefully they can take them out, I don't think I can be helpful until Mystic wakes up." _Rae looked back and forth between the fight between Plasma and Stone. What shocked her was Cinder. She wasn't interfering at all. She just stood there, angrily staring at Plasma as he fought Stone.

Plasma's face went from having a smirk to a thin line as he charged Stone. He was naturally fast, thanks to Bolt, so he was in front of Stone's face before the juggernaut could even react. Stone was sent back a few feet from Plasma's punch, stopping just in front of Cinder. She whispered something in his ear before he moved again. Whatever she said made Stone more aggressive than when the fight started. Stone tried to punch Plasma multiple times, but he dodged every punch. Plasma gave Stone an uppercut and he staggered a little.

_"Wow, Plasma is as strong as those archives said he was. We all completely failed against Stone the first time, but he's an actual challenge for him." _Rae thought as she held Mystic. She looked at Cinder once again and saw everyone who was with her. Duke, Emerald, Mercury... "_Wait, the Twins, where did they go? Shit, that better not be a problem."_

Plasma ran and jumped to the stunned Stone with a raised fist, ready to strike. As soon as his fist made contact, Stone's skin looked as if it had turned to stone. The exposed skin on his head was a dark and rigid black-grey, with some splotches of red on the outer edges. It hurt Plasma rather than Stone. It felt like hitting an iron wall. Stone grabbed Plasma by the throat and threw him in the air, hitting him with his weapon as his skin returned to normal.

"Nice trick, but it won't last for long." Plasma said as he rubbed his now sore neck with a smirk.

_"Come on, you idiots! Stop being cocky and fight! Ugh!" _Rae thought, still feeding her Aura into Mystic. _"He really is like them."_

The electrical flames of Plasma's semblance flared up, similar to Aaron's semblance, and he smirked as he slowly walked to Stone. Stone also walked to him, halberd in hand. Stone swung his weapon multiple times, missing Plasma each time. Plasma kicked him in the leg, but it had harden before the attack landed. Stone finally hit Plasma in the stomach, which made him fly back towards Rae and Mystic. The Lightning-Fire Elemental recovered, and ran at Stone, using Bolt's half of his semblance, appearing as a lightning bolt. He appeared next to Stone and went for a punch, which Stone blocked, but the force was strong enough to deal damage to his Aura and push him back.

Stone snarled, slicing down with his weapon. Plasma sidestepped left, jumping up to kick Stone in the face, then punching him in the neck, and finally kicking him once more in the chest. The final blow threw him back into a wall, trapping him. Stone broke out of the wall, breaking it and destroying the building it was apart of. Plasma charged Stone once again, smiling as he was loving this fight.

Plasma came flying at Stone who blocked his punch and punched him in the chest, followed by a kick to the gut, sending Plasma back a few feet. He stopped himself once he was a few feet away from Stone, standing back up to look at the giant. He ran back at Stone and began punching and kicking him, but Stone was prepared, blocking the attacks and sent him crashing into the ground with a punch. He stomped on the ground, causing a piece of it to fly up. Stone grabbed onto the boulder and threw it at Plasma. Plasma's flames flared up, again, as he cocked his fist back. He punched the boulder, breaking it into pieces and flew towards Stone, fire boosting from his feet.

When Plasma went to punch the large man, Stone's body turned into stone and Plasma's attack had no effect. Stone didn't even flinch. Plasma kicked Stone and got the same effect. Stone grabbed onto Plasma's leg and threw him into a building. Behind him, Cinder's facial expression kept dropping and lifting as she watched the fight, ending at a thin line. She was confident in the beginning but now, she saw that Plasma was an actual match for Stone. She was regretting letting Team AMBR summon Plasma.

Said Elemental crawled out of the building and ran at Stone. What he wasn't expecting was Stone to react quicker than earlier before. Stone once again grabbed Plasma by the throat and he repeatedly punched him in his stomach. He was slammed on the ground multiple times before Stone threw him. Plasma laid on the floor and didn't stand back up immediately. Rae's eyes widened as Plasma laid on the ground, motionless. She let out a breath, that she didn't noticed she was holding as Plasma moved to stand.

"Eh, You got a strong semblance there, pal. You're also pretty strong without it. But there are flaws to everything, and I've found yours." Plasma said as he slowly stood up and pointed at the seven foot man.

Stone's head tilted in wonder, which Plasma took as a response.

"Unfortunately, while your semblance helps make you a very powerful individual, you still possesses a few weaknesses that limit your power. For one, while your very durable, you seem incapable of reacting to sudden or rapid forms of damage. Meaning, if I attack you as fast as I can, it's over." Plasma chuckled as Cinder glared.

_"He discovered his weakness?! Already?! It's like Bolt's adaptability times four. Looks like Plasma has Bolt's additional abilities as well as his semblance."_

"Don't just stand there, kill him!" Cinder commanded and Stone did as he was told but soon regretted it.

Plasma beat him to it, he already attacked before Stone moved. Plasma had punched him in the stomach and no one saw him even move to do so. Plasma released a barrage of attacks that Stone's semblance couldn't keep up with. Once Plasma's fist hit one place, it immediately moved to another spot. Stone's semblance was to slow to keep up.

Once his semblance covered a spot Plasma had already punched, Plasma's fist was already at the next uncovered spot. Stone did however have enough strength to grab his weapon, thrusting it forward to stab the Elemental. Plasma sidestepped left, grabbed the weapon and moving it away from him, while kicking Stone in the face again. He started punching him in the neck again, kicking him once more in the chest. The final blow stunning him in place, allowing Plasma to finish him. Plasma jumped back, for distance, skidding on the floor.

"This'll end it!" He yelled as he jumped back into the air.

He used his semblance to cloak his fists, causing them to became covered in electrified fire. He threw his hands to the side as he lowered towards Stone. He then brought both of his fists together, which slammed the combined force on Stone. The elemental energy erupted and created a fiery explosion, blue lightning sparking around the area as it consumed it's target. It completely obliterated the area where Stone stood, creating smoke and dust. The huge cloud of smoke, dust, and ashes dissipated, revealing that the juggernaut was on the floor, defeated.

Rae cheered as the smoke cleared, she saw that Plasma was left standing while Stone was on the floor. Mystic had finally woken up and saw the last few moments of the fight. She smiled when she saw the Fused Element. She was happy she wasn't a liability to them anymore, she made them better. Plasma looked up at Cinder and her faction and his smirk returned once again.

Plasma looked down at Stone, seeing a gray device with blue and black buttons on it. The Elemental bent down, scanning the only red button on the device. He shrugged as he pressed it, causing the device to glow. Suddenly, Stone's body disappeared, surprising everyone present. His body appeared to have disintegrated, seeming to disappear in particles. Plasma stood, confused about what happened, ignoring it.

Cinder was distraught. Stone was beaten, burned and shocked into unconsciousness, and incinerated. She'd assumed he was dead, with his body disappearing. Her faction members were wide eyed, shocked at the event that played before them. One of their aces was defeated, and assumed to be killed, and the culprit made it seem simple. Plasma looked over to the evil group, a crazed smile on his face. He cloaked his fists in the same electrified fire he used to defeat Stone, taunting them.

"Oh look," Plasma started to walk over to the evil group. There was fire everywhere, making his march look more badass and scarier then it already was, and his sadistic smirk didn't help the fact either. "Now you don't have to wait to fight them both, convenient right?"

He jumped to meet Cinder and cocked his fist back, but a light covered him and the area around them. Once it fully dissipated, Aaron and Bolt were in the air instead of Plasma. Cinder took this chance and made a wave of fire and knocked the two of them away. It sent them back all the way back to Rae and Mystic, but the two boys quickly got up, unharmed, and looked around bog smiles on their faces. They patted themselves to make sure they had the right body parts and that nothing was misplaced. Then they looked at each other and gasped.

"Dude! You heard what he said, right?! Aaron asked as he pointed off to the distance like he was somewhere else.

"That we're basically strongest of the Lightning and Fire Elemental of any generation?! That we were the only ones to perfect Fusion?! A-And that we are the first generation to have two Heroes of our generation, simultaneously?!" Bolt said, ecstatically. "Hell yeah I heard what he said!"

"I know, right?! I still don't get why he did just said "hero" and not "heroes" but it doesn't matter." Aaron turned around to face Cinder and Bolt stood right there next to him. "We got some assholes to deal with."

"Yeah, let's do this." Bolt agreed as the girls walked up and stood next to the boys, which caught them off guard.

"As a team." Rae nodded, earning nods from everyone.

This was going to be a great battle. Future Cinder and her accomplices against Team AMBR. This fight will decide the future's fate; Salem's rule or true peace.

* * *

**Bolt and Aaron have fused, this is Plasma, or that was Plasma.**

**Plasma's Semblance is basically Electric-Fire Manipulation, meaning he can m****anipulate ****with electrified fire. His semblance is Bolt and Aaron's combined. Plasma, personality wise, is naturally cocky, he could be serious as well. Basically, Plasma can talk the talk and walk the walk. When he wants to be cocky, he tends to float with his legs crisscrossed and taunt. When he wants to be serious, he attacks with precision, making sure his attacks are fatal and he doesn't hold back. He gets the cockiness from Aaron and his seriousness from Bolt. He often refers to Bolt and Aaron as 'them' and 'they' and himself as 'I', 'me', and sometimes 'us'. ****Plasma is able to use the Raijin but he chooses not to. The jacket/arm guard is for style, which was inspired by Ren's outfit in Volume 7. ****Well, Plasma was cool while he lasted. So cool, that I found a theme song for him. The song is called Hero of Our Time by NateWantsToBattle.**

**The fusion that creates Plasma isn't actually a fusion of two Fire and Lightning Elementals. It's more of a summoning ritual, if anything. What actually happens is the two Elementals create a trans-dimensional portal that sucks them into a plane outside of time. This portal allows Plasma to come through and into the plane of existence. When Plasma trades places with Bolt and Aaron as the three pass through the portal, Plasma takes some aspects from the two; like their voices, some physical features, pieces of their memories, and the dominant part of their personality. **

**Elemental Auras aren't like normal Auras as they don't provide protection at all. They provide empowerment for Bolt and Aaron's semblances and other elemental abilities, and appear as the Fire that cloaks Aaron's body and the Lightning that surrounds Bolt's body when using their semblances.**

**Coming up: Past and Future**


	25. Past and Future

**Setting: Abandon City**

The four stood tall against Cinder and her faction, smirks on their faces as they were ready for combat. Cinder and were faction were shocked. Stone had been defeated, a feat they never thought possible. Cinder stood with her mouth slightly agape. She'd never thought she'd see the day that Stone lay defeated. She was so stunned that she didn't hear Emerald calling out to her. She just stood there, frozen with shock and fear. Emerald eventually gave up on trying to reach Cinder, she was too far in her own head. With that, Emerald took charge.

"Don't let them near Cinder! Hold them back until Cinder gains control of herself." Emerald commanded, Mercury and Duke standing beside her as they set up a wall between Team AMBR and Cinder. Aaron smirked, knowing this would be easy.

"I got this." He said, using his semblance to boost himself into the air. What he wasn't expecting, was a blast to his chest. The others watched as he went flying back. He tumbled across the ground, finally gained his footing after a few feet. He looked up, seeing Mercury walk up to him with a smirk.

"Wow. You're more of an idiot in the past then my present." Mercury taunted, walking up to Aaron with pure confidence.

"Shut up you gray haired punk." Aaron stood up, glaring at Mercury.

"What? Can't take a joke, flame breath?" The assassin chuckled. Aaron practically had smoke coming out of his nose. He hated Mercury more than Bolt.

"That's it! I'm kicking your ass!" He yelled, unsheathing his sword and charging at the gray haired assassin.

The others watched as Aaron ran at Mercury, angrily swinging his sword. They sighed, having expected it later down the line. Bolt rolled his eyes, moving on from the event. "Great. Mercury got to Aaron."

"It was going to happen sooner or later. Ignore them. Our goal is Cinder." Bolt ran in, unsheathing his sword as he jumped over Emerald, his eyes set on Cinder. He swung his sword down as made his way towards the Maiden, only to have it meet a silver shield. His eyebrows raised as he looked on, seeing Duke standing in between him and Cinder. The two narrowed their eyes, already knowing where this going.

Duke parried him back, causing him to land a few feet away. Bolt glared at Duke, getting into fighting stance. Duke readied his shield, pulling a dagger from behind the weapon. The two needed no words. They had a simple rivalry ever since they met, and one of them was going to be the victor. Bolt then rushed Duke, thrusting his sword forward. Duke put up his shield, deflecting the strike to the side. Bolt spun on his heel, only to be struck by Duke as he sung his fist, colliding with Bolt's face. Bolt backed up, holding his face as he glared at Duke.

"Well, there go the boys." Rae sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Lookout!" Rae looked on, seeing a green blade coming at her. She quickly ducked, rolling on the ground to dodge the blade. Emerald brought the chained sickles back, retracting her weapon back into gun form. She aimed them at Rae and Mystic, who also readied their own weapons. "Well, I guess we have our match."

The three fights all went on simultaneously, and Cinder watched each one, unable to move. She felt useless, more useless than when her mother died. She was lost without her best friend. She honestly didn't know what her life was worth anymore, she'd lost everything that left of her old life. She slowly fell to her knees, holding in the tears she refused to let fall.

Aaron was having a difficult time against Mercury. He never dealt with a kicker before today. He couldn't figure out to stop his fast kicks, resulting in him receiving multiple kicks to the face and chest. He took another kick, which sent him to the ground. He swept his leg, aiming to trip Mercury, but failed as he jumped over Aaron's leg and kicked him back to the ground. Mercury chuckled as he stood over Aaron.

"Guess you're more pathetic than your future self." He taunted, knowing he was only pissing Aaron off more. He thought Mercury would be no sweat, but he was proven wrong.

Aaron growled, placing his hand on the ground, using his semblance to propel himself up and above Mercury. Mercury watched as Aaron propelled himself in the air, preparing himself for whatever he was going to do. Aaron used Nuclear, creating a fire ball in his hand. He threw the fire ball at Mercury, who dodged it. Aaron flew around Mercury, who waited for his opponent to slip up. Aaron charged Mercury, receiving a foot to the face. The pyro tumbled across the floor, before glaring up at Mercury. Without any thought, Aaron activated his semblance once again, fire bursting from his feet as he rocketed towards Mercury, fist cocked and blood boiling.

Surprisingly, to Bolt, he was also having a hard time. Somehow, Duke was better than when they fought at Haven. Unlike the time at Haven, Duke fought more like a knight. He was more calm and collected, and it made Bolt feel predictable. Bolt ran around Duke, using his superior speed to confuse him. When Bolt ran into to attack, Duke blocked the attack with his shield, before slashing at him with his knife. Bolt knew what Duke was doing. He was trying to wear him down. Bolt wasn't going to let that happen.

Bolt sheathed his sword, which surprised Duke. Bolt grabbed one of his pistols from his sides. He switched it to shotgun mode, while pulling his Kukri from his pocket. Bolt threw the knife, causing Duke to raise his shield and deflect the small blade. What Duke didn't know, was what the knife allowed Bolt to do. Duke spun around, throwing his shield at Bolt at a high speed. Bolt was shocked at this, but it didn't faze him. He connected to the knife, appearing above the blonde haired solider. Duke looked up, shocked at Bolt's sudden action. He was defenseless as Bolt aimed his pistol at him, firing at point blank range. The close range shot launched both boys back, with Duke tumbling and Bolt skidding to a stop as he landed on his feet.

Duke raised his arm, activating the electromagnetic panels in the gauntlet. His shield then came to him, clipping onto the gauntlet, much to Bolt's surprise. The two ran at each other, their faces almost emotionless. Their knives clashed, bringing them to a short stalemate. The two swung their knives at each other, the metal of the blades clashing and creating sparks as they did so. Bolt dodged a strike from Duke, tackling him to the ground. Bolt cocked his fist, throwing a punch at Duke, who blocked it with his shield. The blonde pushed Bolt off, causing him to roll back.

Bolt needed to end this. They didn't have time to be fighting. Bolt needed to stop Cinder. He looked at Duke, watching as he stood back up. Duke glared at Bolt, before charging him. Bolt met him halfway, jumping over the blonde while he unsheathed his sword. He followed it up with a kick to Duke's side, sending him tumbling back. Bolt ran after Duke, slashing his sword at him. The evil blonde blocked the strikes, returning with his own. Bolt jumped back from the slashes, only to get his hoodie caught, receiving a hole. Bolt looked down at the hole, glaring at Duke for ruining his favorite hoodie.

He used his semblance to charge at Duke, who prepared himself by raising his shield. Bolt, instead of clashing head on with Duke, ran to his side. Duke saw Bolt enter his peripheral, too late to stop the strike to his side. Bolt struck Duke with a palm strike, sending him flying across the battlefield. An idea popped into Bolt's head in that moment. He knew how to take down Duke. The answer was his speed, it always had been. Duke was a close quarters fighter, with having an option for ranged. But, he wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed.

Bolt continued his attacks, rapidly striking Duke on all sides. Duke was defenseless against Bolt rapid attack, receiving punches, kicks and palms strikes all over. Duke activated the dust in his shield, creating a pulse of fire, pushing Bolt off of him. Duke's hand glowed white, signalling Bolt that he was using his semblance, Stigma. If Bolt played this right, he could take Duke down in a flash. Bolt ran straight at Duke, who prepared himself for an attack. As Bolt got closer, Duke thrusted his hand forward, attempting to freeze him. Bolt easily dodged his hands, grabbing onto it and forcing it against his chest.

Bolt backed away from Duke as a white glow appeared around him. Bolt had successfully used Duke's semblance against him. Bolt smirked as he started backing up, Duke's eyes widening in fear. Bolt sped back a few feet, before charging Duke at full speed. He collided into Duke, sending him flying across the battlefield, his aura breaking as he tumbled into a tree. Bolt sighed as he caught his breath, Duke was finally defeated. He looked over, seeing that Cinder hadn't moved since the fight started. He grabbed his sword, sprinting over to the Maiden, ready to end this.

Aaron barely blocked at kick from Mercury, skidding back from the power behind it. He gritted his teeth as he got angry. He shouldn't be having trouble against Mercury, but he was. He didn't know what it was, but Mercury was getting to him. He was in his head. Aaron dodged to the left, avoiding a blast of air from Mercury. Aaron activated the fire dust in his sword, sending a fire slash at the assassin. Mercury jumped over the attack, a silver droplet dripping off of his legs. As he landed, Aaron charged him, aiming to strike him with his sword. Mercury smirked as he ducked under the blade, rolling away from the pyro. Aaron looked back in shock, only to receive a boot to the face.

Aaron went to the ground, punching it in anger. Before he got back up to fight, however, he decided to change up his fighting style. Instead of charging in, he was going to think about his next plan of attack. Now that he was thinking about it, Mercury's kick hurt more than a kick normally would. They felt as if a metal pipe struck him in the face. His eyes trailed downward to the ground, seeing a silver droplet. He touched the liquid, seeing that it was melted metal. The boy's eyes widened as he remembered sending a wave of fire at Mercury before. Aaron remembered that he avoided the attack, bring him to the conclusion that it came from Mercury. He continued thinking, realizing that the liquid came from Mercury. If what he thought was correct, it came his boots.

Aaron knew what to do. He crossed his arms over his chest, using his semblance to generate heat inside him body. Aaron's body was then covered in flames, which surprised Mercury. The ground around the pyro charred around him as the heat temperature rose. Aaron smirked as he extend his arm outward, releasing Heat Wave out onto the area. Mercury, waiting for the impact of Aaron's attack, was disappointed when he felt nothing but heat. He went to ran at the pyro, only to feel himself sinking as he took a step. He looked down, seeing that his prosthetics were melting.

Aaron smiled as he charged Mercury, firing bursting out from his feet. He tackled the gray haired assassin, before throwing him into the ground, breaking his aura. He tumbled across the ground, with Aaron skidding to a stop right behind him. Soon, Mercury was laid out on the ground, legs missing and melted. Aaron walked up to Mercury, breathing heavily as he stared down at him. As Aaron stood above Mercury, feeling victorious, he looked up seeing Mystic and Rae as they fought Emerald. He ran away from the gray haired assassin, and propelled himself towards the three girls.

Mystic and Rae were clashing with Emerald. The three girls ran around the battlefield, their weapons creating sparks off of each other as their weapons clashed. Mystic dodged Emerald's chains scythes, retaliating by firing an ice arrow from her bow. Emerald dodged the arrow, which froze on contact, creating an ice block behind her. As she was recovering, Rae ran at her. She had her weapons in Escrima Stick form, the tasers active as she did so. Emerald turned to see Rae sprinting at her, and parried all of her attacks. However, when Emerald went to counter, her attacks were stopped by a transparent force field.

Mystic came from Emerald's side, kicking her in the side. Rae followed up with a strike from her sticks. The two girls looked at one another, nodding with a smile. Rae ran past the faunus, tapping her shoulder, cloaking Mystic's body in a green aura. Mystic opened up a portal in front of Rae, who jumped in. Another portal appeared behind Emerald, which Rae emerged from. She struck her in the side once again, before disappearing into another portal. This went on for a few more strikes, the green aura fading from Mystic as Rae tripped Emerald, tasing her as she laid on the ground. Emerald kicked her back, causing her to stumble.

Emerald fired bullets at Rae in retaliation, which was blocked by Mystic. Rae thanked her faunus teammate, distracting her from the chain scythe that hooked under Rae's foot, tripping her. Emerald shot out her other chain scythe, which was aimed directly at Rae's head.

Mystic aimed in arrow, planning on saving Rae, but was beaten to the punch. A fire ball collided with the chain scythe, deflecting it's course to Rae's head. Aaron suddenly landed next to Rae, causing the girl to looked up shocked. He helped the green haired girl up. Mystic ran up next to the two.

"You... beat Mercury?" Rae asked in between breaths, seeing some scraps on Aaron's clothes.

"Of course." Aaron said, confidently. He faced Emerald.

"What about Bolt?" Mystic questioned, looking around for the boy. Aaron pointed over to his left, leading the girls focus, which was Bolt sprinting towards Cinder.

"I think he's fine." Aaron lit up his hand with his semblance, glaring at Emerald. "Let's focus on the task at hand."

"Right."

"Formation 12." Both Rae and Mystic ran ahead, leaving a dumbfounded Aaron behind.

"Formation what?"

Rae and Mystic charged in, putting pressure on Emerald, leaving Aaron behind. He was confused at what Formation 12 was. He stood there and watched the girls zig-zag their way towards Emerald, who fired shots at the two girls. Their movements allowed them to dodge the bullets, allowing them to slowly make their way to the illusionist. The two girls struck Emerald simultaneously, shocking the green haired woman. Rae used her leg and tripped Emerald, returning her for earlier. She looked up, seeing an axe blade coming for her. Emerald rolled to the right, and dodged Mystic's axe. She popped up, sending her chain scythes at the two girls. A stray fire ball collided into the scythes, causing the three to look back. Aaron ran up to the three, fire cloaking his left hand and his sword in his right.

"I don't know what Formation 12 is, but it doesn't matter!" Aaron yelled, jumping up in the air. He swung his sword, aiming it for Emerald, who dodged out of the way. "I'm winning this."

He swung his sword again, launching a fire slash at Emerald. Rae and Mystic also jumped out of the way, not wanting to get caught in the attack. Emerald dodged the attack as well, using her chain scythes to latch onto Aaron and pull him down to the ground. Rae immediately ran in afterward, planning on taking the green haired girl by surprise. However, her action was stopped. Emerald fired shots at her enemy, who rolled out of the way. Aaron stood back up on his feet, sprinting towards Rae. Mystic watched as the two attempted to get closer to Emerald. She watched Aaron attempt to take the bullets head on, letting his aura tank the damage long enough to get close. Thankfully, Rae wasn't doing the same. She was using the speed she had to dodge the bullets. Emerald had her running around the area, not letting her get in close.

Luckily for Mystic, Emerald wasn't paying any attention to her. The faunus needed to come up with a plan, and quickly. She looked down at her axe, seeing her last Dust crystal was a Fire Dust crystal. She plan then slowly came to her. If they could get Emerald's aura low enough, and if Mystic could connect her axe to the green haired girl from the future, they can finish this. The yellow haired girl closed her eyes, focusing on her semblance.

_"Guys! I have an idea!"_ Mystic's thought projected, slightly spooking her two teammates.

_"Shit, M. Watch the volume." _Aaron responded, slowly pushing forward on Emerald.

_"Oops! Sorry!"_

_"What's the plan?" _Rae questioned, planting her sticks in the ground, erecting a rock wall to protect herself from Emerald's bullets.

_"Right. I think I can take her down if you can get her aura down low enough." _The faunus informed. Aaron's eyebrows raised as he came to a conclusion.

_"I'm on it!" _Aaron stabbed his sword in the ground in front of him, blocking Emerald's bullets. He prepared himself for his skill, generating a large amount of heat in his body.

Rae, already knowing what was coming, activated the Ice Dust in her sticks and put them in her jacket and shirt. Aaron then popped up from behind his sword, releasing out his Heat Wave. The heat was a greater deal than the other times he's used it. It was extremely more intense, as if the whole area was set a blaze. Rae could see that it was taking a toll on Emerald. She could see the sweat dripping from her forehead, and how her breathing turned heavy. The effects of Aaron's heat surprisingly took effect faster than it did before.

Rae grabbed her sticks from her jacket, activating the taser function. She tased Emerald as many times as she could, striking her in the shoulder, back, and legs with each hit ticking down her aura. Once she was done, Mystic ran up from behind the girl, winding up and swinging her axe at Emerald's side. Emerald gasped as she felt the strike from Mystic, which sent her flying across the area with a tumbling landing. The three members of AMBR waited for movement and after waiting for a few seconds declared that they defeated Emerald.

The three sighed in relief, with Aaron laying down on the ground as he was extremely tired. Rae also sat down, looking up to see Mystic walk up to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Let's just hope Bolt does his job, or we just did that for nothing."

* * *

**Rae and Mystic came up with a similar team attack to Bolt and Aaron's Absolute Carnage. It is called Extravaganza. When the two girls use this team attack, Mystic uses her Portals to give Rae a constant way to attack while using her Barriers to defend her against enemy attacks. Rae uses her semblance to boost Mystic's aura levels, allowing her to constantly switch from Portals to Barriers and not have her aura drained.**

**Bolt can also use Zeus' Lightning Bolt on his own, but it's more effective when his opponent is distracted and not frozen for a few seconds.**

**I'm tweaking Mystic's semblance a little bit. She can now only use other people's semblances 20 different times, before it's lost and unusable (starting from now.) She can regain**** the semblance, if she touches someone with the same semblance. **

**Coming up: The Battle for the Future**


	26. The Battle for the Future

Bolt sprinted towards Cinder, sword in hand. She had been sat on the ground for the whole duration of the second half of the battle. She was still frozen in shock at the defeat of her best friend. She was experiencing almost all emotions at once, and her head was screaming at her to get revenge. Despite how much she agreed, she couldn't move. She didn't even flinch as she heard Bolt running up to her. Bolt jumped up above the future Maiden and swung his sword down. Bolt wondered why Cinder hadn't moved. He knew that Stone was important to her, but he expected her to try and get revenge rather than sit still and mourn. However, Bolt got exactly what he expected as he quickly brought his sword down lower to block a strike from Cinder's sword, which exploded on contact with Bolt's. It send Bolt flying back and he safety landed on his feet.

"You bastard!" She spat, her eyes burning with the most intense rage. "You killed him?"

_"Killed him?"_ Bolt looked back to Stone, seeing his burnt body. He could clearly see that he was breathing, so what was Cinder saying? "What're you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know!" She yelled, forming another sword in her hands. Bolt sighed. She was too far gone to listen. Thankfully, he wasn't here to talk. Bolt prepared himself, taking a stance as Cinder, charged at him.

Bolt jumped back as Cinder swung her swords down, creating an explosion of fire. Bolt dodged another swipe from Cinder. Bolt was then blown back by a gust of wind, sending him tumbling. He glared at the Maiden, using his semblance to quickly move out of the way of a fire ball. Cinder charged at Bolt, creating a Scimitar as she did so. Bolt blocked the attack, kicking Cinder back. She instantly retaliated with a wave of fire, in which Bolt jumped over. She then rushed towards him slashing at him in attempt to kill him. Bolt dodged most of the attacks, only a few of them got through his guard, his aura taking the small damage. Cinder swept up the dirt from the ground, creating several glass shards in front of her.

Bolt's eyes widened. He didn't know she could do that. The maiden then sent the shades after Bolt, who ran away from them, causing the shards to stab into the ground. Bolt then sprinted at Cinder, breaking the glass shards as she sent them at him. He then punched Cinder in the face, shocking the maiden. She responded back with a strong vale of wind. Bolt went tumbling, using his sword to stop himself. Bolt's eyes sparked as he activated his semblance, moving away from Cinder's line of view. The Fall Maiden smirked, tapping a blue button on a wrist band she wore. The button started to glow, and Bolt's semblance was instantly stopped. He tumbled at high speeds. He forgot about Cinder's device. He wouldn't be able to use his speed unless he destroyed that device.

He ran at Cinder once more, creating the lightning copy of his sword. She created another sword, bringing them down on Bolt. Bolt blocked the attack with his swords, creating a crater underneath his feet. Cinder used her power to erupt fire from her feet, pushing Bolt further in the ground. He could feel his body being push down further and further, and the heat of Cinder's fire only made it more uncomfortable. Bolt looked at the fire in Cinder's eyes, and he knew that she had murderous intent.

He looked at his lightning copy blade, seeing it starting to crumble from Cinder's fire and might. It gave him an idea. Bolt then disassembled the construct, causing Cinder to fall forward from the lack of support on her blades. Bolt used this to maneuver out from underneath Cinder, grabbing her arm to throw her into the ground. Bolt landed a few feet away from Cinder, prepared for anything she would throw at him. He dodged a swipe from her as she held a knife, pulling out his own. They parried each other's strikes moving around the area. Bolt ran in, only to side step away from a wave of fire. Before he was regaining his footing, he was suddenly slammed into a building and was held in place by a Grimm's hand.

Bolt tried to pry the hand from his throat, but with no avail. He looked up as Cinder walked towards him, evilly smiling as she did so. "I'll make you pay for what you did. You will end you."

"Yeah? Stop talking about it and do it already!" Bolt challenged as he struggled to breathe, trying to remove the arm. Cinder only laughed as she ignited flames in her palm.

"Okay." However, before Cinder could finish, she was suddenly tackled to the side by a man cloaked in flames. Bolt gasped for air as he fell to the ground. Mystic and Rae ran to his side, helping him up as he did so.

"Thanks guys."

"You're welcome, but we need to hurry and help Aaron before he get ahead of himself." Rae said, activating the tasers in her sticks.

"You're right. Le'ts go." Bolt agreed, using his semblance to rush in. Rae and Mystic were right behind him.

However, as the three made it near Aaron and Cinder, the Fire Elemental was already ahead of himself. He tried using brute strength to overpower the maiden, but was meet with an even stronger force. Aaron's flames were pushed back by Cinder's magic, a simple gust of wind putting them out with ease. Cinder outmatched the pyro with her might. The Maiden struck him with lightning as he attempted to fly with his fire. He was able to handle himself against her various weapons, but she used suddenly used a sword that exploded when Aaron blocked it with Toggle.

He went flying back, with Cinder rushing after him. Aaron dropped his sword as he tumbled, recovering just in time to see the Fall Maiden heading straight towards him. He cloaked his fist in flames, throwing a punch at her. However, Cinder caught his fist and used her magic to freeze his hand and his fire. She then used her Grimm hand, wrapping it around his throat. She then threw the boy into a nearby building, sending him crashing through it. Cinder smirked as she walked over towards the building, preparing to cause it to crumble on top of the boy. That was until she quickly raised her hand up, using her aura to block incoming bullets from Rae.

Mystic used this to run around Cinder's right side while Bolt ran up on her left. Cinder watched them both circle around her, but both her hands were tied as she blocked Rae's bullets. She quickly moved over to the side and let Rae's bullets go by her, which also let her dodge an attack from Mystic. She came face-to-face with Bolt, who swung his sword at her. She countered by pushing him back with a gust of wind, sending him tumbling back.

Mystic tried to attack her once again, which Cinder was too slow to dodge. She took a slash to the back, and it caused her to growl in anger. She attempted to send a blast of fire Mystic's way when she heard an anger roar come from behind her. She turned and saw the building in front of her on fire. She saw Aaron angrily step out the building before charging at the Maiden, fire trailing behind him. He yelled as he drew his arms back, releasing a blast of fire out at Cinder. She countered with a blast of ice, causing the two elements to clash.

Aaron gave it his all, pushing his semblance further than he had ever done. Sadly, despite this, Cinder's ice froze Aaron's fire with ease. It slowly made it's way to Aaron, who was too shocked to move. He never thought a Maiden with be this powerful. He expected this to be a piece of cake, with only slight struggle. He watched as his fire freeze in front of him, showing just how weak his fire was compared to Cinder's everything. Just before the ice could consume Aaron, he was pulled down to the ground, bringing him out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see Bolt had pulled him down and out of the way from the ice. He was shocked that Bolt had acted so fast. "Thanks."

"No problem." Bolt nodded, taking off and sprinting towards Cinder to help Mystic and Rae.

The two girls were in a fast paced fight with Cinder. Mystic slid under Cinder's flaming arm as the Maiden flew towards her. She recovered with a roll, loading an Lightning Dust Arrow and firing it. Cinder easily caught the arrow, crushing it with her hands, unaffected by the electricity. She dodged a swipe from Rae's ecrisma sticks, grabbing the green haired girl by her face. She then used her power over fire to erupt fire from her feet as she forced Rae's head into the ground, digging her head in the dirt before throwing her away. The Maiden turned to see Bolt running towards her. She smirked as she went to attack.

As Cinder went to send a wave of fire at Bolt, he slashed at her wristband, which had a familiar device attached to it. The device took the brunt of Bolt's attack, breaking on impact. Bolt followed up his attack with with a kick to Cinder's side, sending her tumbling back.

"Rae, you okay?" He asked, preparing himself for whatever Cinder would do next.

"I'm fine, but look." Rae pointed at the broken device on the ground. "Isn't that the device she used to stop your semblance?"

"Apparently." Bolt went to take a step, but a streak of fire blew past him. He sighed as he let it go, watching Mystic run after their battle-crazed leader. The Stormbringer looked back, seeing his heavily breathing teammate. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I said I'm fine." She responded defensively. Bolt pulled out his Scroll as the green haired girl slowly took a seat. "Just give me a minute."

"Rae, your aura's under 25 percent." Bolt stated, sighing as he put his Scroll away. "You should sit the rest of this out."

Rae wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She slowly nodded in agreement with a groan. She hated the fact that she was the first one out. She knew that was the competitiveness of Aaron rubbing off on her, but she told herself it was best to sit out. "Yeah, you're right. Just kick her ass, okay?"

"Don't have to tell me twice." Bolt nodded, speeding off towards Cinder, Aaron, and Mystic.

Aaron flew around Cinder, threw fire balls at the Maiden, who either dodged or neutralized the fire. She would retaliate with her own projectiles, varying from ice to her own fire. Once Aaron was finally struck by Cinder's lightning attack, Mystic wouldn't give her breathing room and ran in to attack. The faunus swung her axe at the Maiden, only to have her weapon caught. Cinder froze Mystic's axe, but the faunus morphed her weapon's form into it's bow form, breaking the ice in the process. She retracted the limbs of her bow and made them shorter, which caused the blades to come out, turning her bow into it's bladed variant. She had requested a bladed-bow for close-ranged combat when she ran out of arrows, but this was close enough.

Mystic swung her bladed-bow at Cinder, who dodged it like the wind. Mystic followed the Maiden as she moved around the battlefield. She was getting frustrated. She couldn't land a hit on Cinder, she could barely get in close. Mystic threw a Wind Dust Arrow at the ground in front of her, which she ran over and used it as a way to launch herself upward. However, this proved to be a bad idea as Cinder used her power over the wind in the air, striking the faunus with a swift gust of air to her stomach. The wind seemed to have lift the girl off, and into a tree. As Cinder took the second to rest, she was struck in the face by a sudden punch. The punch sent her back a ways. When she recovered she looked up to see Bolt in front of her. She had almost forgotten that her device was broken. Bolt had free use of his semblance again, and that fact pissed her off.

Cinder violently stood up, her eyes flared, the Maiden flames lighting up. Bolt readied himself, getting into fighting stance. The Maiden yelled as she charged in, the fire bursted from her feet. She created a sword and swung overhead, which Bolt blocked and redirected the attack to the ground. Bolt went to kick Cinder, but it was dodged. Cinder then grabbed Bolt by the throat, propelling the two with her Maiden powers and into a tree. Bolt went back first into the tree, causing him to grit at the impact. The Maiden then threw the Elemental back and watched him tumble before he stabbed his sword in the ground and caught himself.

Before Cinder or Bolt could continue, Mystic fired three arrows from her bow at the Fall Maiden. Cinder dodged the arrows, jumping in between two of them. She landed and retaliated with a gust of wind. Mystic rolled out of the way of, and fired an arrow in return. Cinder dodged the arrow with ease, and fired beams of fire from both of her hands, trapping the faunus in from both sides. She then brought her hands closer together, bringing the beams of fire closer to Mystic. Before the beams could crash into Mystic, Aaron jumped in front of his faunus teammate, protecting her from the fire.

Aaron then used his semblance to send a wave of fire at Cinder. "Take this!"

Cinder visibly scoffed and froze the flames, but was punched by a fire-cloaked hand. Aaron had move out of the way as Cinder froze his flames, and used the distraction to get in close. Cinder was shocked at this. She didn't expect Aaron to use his predictable fighting style as a distraction. She grabbed Aaron by the hand and blasted him away. She dodged an attack from Mystic, tripping her swiftly. Mystic rolled on the ground, using the momentum to swung her foot up and kicked Cinder in her jaw. As Cinder stumbled back, Aaron flew in and kicked her, sending her flying back.

Cinder caught herself, using the wind to stop herself in the air and stay floating. She violently balled her hands into fist, causing the ground to shake as if there was an earthquake, before she thrusted them forward. Her gesture caused rock pillars to shoot out from the ground and towards the three in front of her. The three acted quickly and dodged the pillars as they came. Bolt and Aaron ran towards Cinder, maneuvering around the pillars as they did so. Mystic, however, backed away from the pillars. Mystic continued to dodged the pillars as as she backed away, using her faunus senses to avoid being hit. As Mystic was avoiding the pillars, she didn't realize that the pillars were piled on top of each other behind her. The faunus collided with the tipped over pillars, which surprised Mystic enough to distract her from the incoming threat in front of her. As she was distracted, a pillar arose from up under the girl, which sent her flying into the sky.

The impact broke Mystic's aura in one blow, and had her conveniently land right next to Rae, who was at her side immediately. The faunus was breathing heavily, still feeling the pain of the pillar hitting her body. Rae tried to soothe her teammate, hoping that she didn't take internal damage. The green haired girl cursed under her breath, looking on towards the boys and Cinder's location. "Please don't lose."

Aaron furiously attacked Cinder, who swiftly dodged the pyro's attacks and had a smile on her face as she did so. Aaron growled to himself and he swung his fists at the Maiden. He was really starting to get pissed off. Cinder was treating him as if he was fodder. The boy's eyes widened as he jumped back, barely dodging glass shards that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. As he floated upward, his legs were encased in ice, stopping his movement in mid-air. Aaron tried to force his way out, only to see that he couldn't move. He looked down, seeing Cinder flying up toward him.

On the ground, Bolt ran to the ice tower, pulling out his sword as he did so. He jumped forward, using the momentum to slash through the ice and crashed into Cinder, sending the two tumbling back. They stood back up almost simultaneously and equipped their weapons, before charging each other. Aaron used this time to melt the ice trapping his feet, which allowed him to land back onto the ground and rush in to help Bolt. Bolt dodged several glass shards as they came at him, using his sword to block the follow up attack. He then rolled out of the way, giving Aaron the space he needed to tackle the Maiden.

However, what the Fire Elemental didn't expect was Cinder flying up above him and using the earth to encase him once more. Cinder then used her power to send the rock sphere trapping the pyro flying across the sky, before she created more earth pillar and forced them to collide into the sphere, creating an explosion of rocks and boulders. Aaron plummeted to the ground, unconscious and with several rocks right behind him. A red sheen glowed around the boy's body before it dissipated, signalling that Aaron's aura broke. Rae attempted to carry Mystic over toward her leader, but was stopped at the boulders finally landed on the ground, blocking her straight forward path and almost making her drop her faunus teammate. Luckily, the boulders weren't completely blocking her path. She simply walked around them at to Aaron, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him and carrying Mystic away from any more danger.

Bolt looked back and cursed to himself. His eyes sparked as he glared at Cinder, gripping his sword in anger. He charged Cinder head on, swinging his sword. Cinder created her own, blocking Bolt's strike. The Maiden attempted to swipe at Bolt legs, fire trailing behind her leg, but Bolt jumped back and dodged. Bolt activated his semblance and ran around Cinder and appear behind her. Cinder expected this action, whipping around and slashing Bolt across his chest. Bolt backed up, getting out of Cinder's range and ran around the Maiden. The two stared at each other as Bolt circled Cinder. Cinder had a smirk the entire time, and Bolt didn't know why. Despite how much he hated not knowing Cinder's plans, he could think about it. He needed to stay on the offensive. He extended his hand out to the side, the lightning sword forming in his palm. He then pushed off the ground with his foot, launching himself toward Cinder with his swords raised. He used all of his strength to swing downward. Cinder blocked the strike, but she could feel the difference in the attack. Bolt was actually trying now that he was the only one left. She maniacally laughed as she summoned a large, two handed sword and rushed Bolt, who stood his ground. He met her halfway, eyes sparking as the three swords clashed.

Rae dragged Aaron and away from the battle, while Mystic used her as support. They found a building a decent ways away from the area. Mystic sat against the wall, holding onto her stomach as she still felt the pain of the earth pillar. Rae dragged Aaron into a comfortable position before going over to Mystic to help her out. As she left, Aaron groaned and rose slowly, holding his throbbing head. The three felt and looked defeated.

"You think he'll be okay?" Mystic asked, weakly. Rae sat next to her, hand on her chest as she used the rest of her aura to activate her semblance to at least help Mystic feel better.

"It's the battle for the future." Aaron said sarcastically as he returned to laying on the ground. "He'll be fine."

"He better be. He's the only one left." Rae said, finally resting next to Mystic. "I can't keep going."

"You know, I have faith in Bolt, I really do. But, just in case... I want you three to know... that I really enjoyed being apart of this team." Aaron sighed, looking straight up at the roof. Rae and Mystic nodded to themselves, agreeing with their leader. "We may have been split for the beginning, but going through the last couple months made up for it. I mean, sure, we were told about the true horrors of the world and aren't even doing anything about it, but I trust that it'll get handed. Besides, we could definitely do it. We stopped a _cyborg_ from turning Remnant into Robot-land. I'd say we're the best team in this generation of Remnant has!"

Aaron looked at the two girls for a split second, knowing the he was rambling. He sighed as he got to the point. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that if this it, then I'm happy I died with you guys and I don't regret a single day I've spent with you."

"We feel the same way, fearless leader." Rae smiled. She didn't want to think the worst, but it was good to be content with it. "Despite all the headaches you all have caused me, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Same here. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for." Mystic nodded, leaning her head against Rae's head. "I'm glad I met you all."

While the other members of Team AMBR were having their moment, Bolt was in a fast paced battle with Cinder. Bolt went to trip the Maiden, only for her to dodge and fly up into the air. Bolt looked up, the adrenaline from their fight rushing through him. Cinder yelled as hurled fire balls at the Elemental, who moved around the area to dodge them. Bolt jumped back from the last fire ball, grabbing a hold of a pistol and firing it at Cinder. She dodged the bullet, blasting a gust of wind at the boy. Bolt's body skipped across the ground as they wind struck him, before his body crashed into a building and his aura taking the majority of the impact.

He shook off the stunned feeling from the crash, hand on his head. Bolt suddenly felt everything rumble around him. He looked around, seeing things shaking. The shaking got more intense, and it made Bolt's legs wobble uncontrollably. He looked down to the ground, noticing that only a cut out circle around him was shaking while the rest was perfectly fine. As he looked around at his surroundings once again, he worked up that he was the only thing that was shaking. He was then shot into the air, landing on the roof of the building behind him. He tumbled across the old roof tiles, before stopping himself with his sword, rising to attention.

Bolt hurried to catch his breath, watching as Cinder lowered herself on to the roof a few feet away from him.

"You have been an _extreme_ pain in my ass." Cinder growled, the Maiden's powers radiating off of her eyes.

"What can I say, it's a habit of mind." Bolt joked sarcastically, waiting for anything she would throw at him.

"Don't mock me!" Her eyes burned in anger. She had completely lost it. "I'll be rid of you! I'll kill you!"

She yelled before charging it, bring Bolt to a defensive stance. "If I had a Lien for every time I heard that..."

Bolt parried Cinder to the side, the former rebounding almost instantly, charging Bolt with fire in her hands. Bolt jumped back, dodging the Maiden's attack as it created in explosion on contact. Cinder flew through the smoke, not giving Bolt a chance to breath. Bolt dodged once again, but was too close to the explosion, which launched him back. The boy landed on his feet, and immediately blocked a strike from Cinder. Bolt used the momentum, letting himself fall to the ground before flipping up and kicking Cinder off. Bolt followed up by using his semblance to speed himself up, kicking Cinder back. The Maiden used the wind to stop herself in mid air, turning back and charging at Bolt, creating a blade in the process.

As Bolt's sword and Cinder's blade collided, an explosion was produced, launching Bolt back. Bolt recovered quickly, but realized he didn't have his sword anywhere near. He looked around for the weapon, seeing it laying on the edge of the roof. He knew Cinder wouldn't let him get to his weapon, even if he used his semblance. Cinder charged at Bolt once again, however, the Elemental dodged the attack easily. He jumped up, flipping in the air to deliver a overhead kick to Cinder, but the girl moved out of the way just before. She then countered, kicking him in the stomach, launching him back. Bolt tumbled across the rooftop once again, stopping just before the edge.

He attempted to flip up and stand back up, but was pushed back down as he felt pressure pressing down on his body. He looked up to see Cinder pinning him down. She held a sword to his neck, and he barely was able to hold it back. As Cinder pushed down, the roof under the boy crumbled from the weight and broke off, slanting the boy's body a little. He looked down, seeing how high up they were. He also noticed that this building was a certain building. It was a clocktower of sorts, and it's clock hands were directly under Bolt's head. Cinder then threw a punch at the Elemental, who dodged it and threw the Maiden off of him.

Bolt quickly stood to attention, noticing Cinder's current state. She was fighting like an animal with no strategy whatsoever. He could see in her face that she was losing her mind, and that all she wanted to do was kill him. He sighed as she charged him once again, creating two more rock swords. He needed to end this now, before things got any worse. He looked over to his left, seeing his sword balancing on the edge of the rooftop, before glancing back over to Cinder.

Just before Cinder could strike, Bolt disappeared from her sight, surprising her greatly. She looked over, seeing that he ran and grabbed his sword. She continued her attack, turning to face Bolt before charging in once again. Bolt met her halfway, faster than she expected. He created his lightning sword, blocking a strike from one of the Maiden's swords. He then followed up with a kick to her stomach, sending her back. Bolt ran to keep up with her, jumping up and kicking her downwards. Cinder countered by launching Bolt back with wind, sending him crashing through a pipe, which murky water bursted out of. Bolt rolled on the ground, looking up to see Cinder walked towards him with murderous intent.

"Is that all you have?" She asked sarcastically, holding a sword towards Bolt. "Any last words?"

The boy in question looked down at her feet, seeing the murky water pooling around her feet. His eyes widened slightly as he got an idea. "Yeah. This was shocking."

"Wha-" She didn't get a chance to question him as Bolt stabbed his lightning construct into the pool of water, shocking Cinder, causing the woman to groan in pain. He saw her aura flicker across her body, and he jumped up and kicked her in the chest, finally breaking her aura. The kick sent her tumbling across the rooftop, stopping just before the edge. Bolt sighed with relief as Cinder laid and the ground. It was finally over.

He walked over to the Maiden, aiming his pistol at her. He looked at the woman with sympathy. He felt bad that she was put in this situation, only to lose. He saw the woman open her eyes and look around before they fell on him. She rolled her eyes as he looked to the sky.

"What happened to you?" The boy asked suddenly, filling the awkward silence. When she didn't answer Bolt continued. "I know you had a fucked up past, but did it really lead to this?"

"Yes. Yes it did." She stated simply, and leaving it at that. Bolt sighed. "You might as well kill me. There's no reason for us to talk."

"I'm not going to kill you." Bolt stated simply, leaning down. "You don't deserve that. Not yet, anyway."

"Then what are you going to do, huh?" Bolt grabbed Cinder's wrist, seeing the strange device that once held the Lightning Rod device. Bolt saw a green button that caught his eye.

"I'm sending you home."

"Wha-" Bolt hit the green button on her device, and it glowed as it was activated. Before Bolt could move, a light shined and blinded Bolt. A few seconds later, the light dissipated and when Bolt opened his eyes, Cinder was gone. For the final time, Bolt sighed with relief. The fight was finally over.

Bolt walked away from the spot, which once held Cinder, and to the edge of the roof. He jumped off the roof, climbing down the building and onto the ground. He pulled out his Scroll, looking up the location of the others. Once he found them, he ran to met them. Bolt found the group sitting in an abandoned building.

They simultaneously looked at the entrance on the building to see a smiling Bolt. "Guess who won?"

"See! I told you he wouldn't fail!" Aaron said, standing up to side hug Bolt.

"Oh? Is that what you said?" Aaron glared at her green haired teammate.

"Not a word, Rae." He said through his teeth. Bolt looked in between the two, confused on what they were talking about.

"Did I miss something-"

"No, no! Not at all! Let's go home, team." Aaron cut him off, walking off and away from them as fast as possible. Bolt looked to Rae, who chuckled to herself.

"I'll tell you later." The girl said as she went to follow their pink haired leader.

"I'll say it sense our elders didn't. G-Good job, Bolt." Mystic said as she walked up next to Bolt with a smile. The boy looked over to the faunus girl, smiling back at her.

"Thanks, Mystic."

"Hmhm." She nodded. "Us young ones have to stick together."

"Yeah."

The boy laughed before they went to catch up with their older teammates, chuckling to themselves at their new inside joke.

* * *

**Here it is. The end of Volume Two and the saving of the future.**

**Next Time... Team AMBR: Volume Three**


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